The Friday after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday," has traditionally been a huge shopping day, with retailers promoting special hours and major discounts to jump start the holiday gift-buying season. However, this year some stores are taking it to the extreme, kicking off their Black Friday sales Thursday evening. Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Macy's, Kohl's, and Target all announced they would start their sales even earlier than the usual crack-of-dawn Friday morning rush, with Wal-Mart, the earliest among them, launching their holiday sale at 10 p.m. Thursday. Some shopaholics may be rejoicing at the extra hours, but other consumers are pushing back. Nearly 200,000 people have signed a "Tell Target to Save Thanksgiving" petition to calling for the retailing giant to push back their sale from midnight to the usual 5 a.m. Friday kick off. The petition argues:
A midnight opening robs the hourly and in-store salary workers of time off with their families on Thanksgiving Day. By opening the doors at midnight, Target is requiring team members to be in the store by 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. A full holiday with family is not just for the elite of this nation -- all Americans should be able to break bread with loved ones and get a good night's rest on Thanksgiving!
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However, some are defending retailers' decision to start sales early. They argue that in the current economic conditions, consumers can appreciate the discounts, stores can't be blamed for reaching for the extra revenue, and there are plenty of unemployed Americans who would be grateful to work, even if on Thanksgiving.
What do you think? Does Black Friday start too early this year? Take the poll and comment below.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (3)
Sabina of NY 10:31AM November 24, 2011
20 years in retail of GA 11:44PM November 23, 2011
Andi of TX 11:50AM November 23, 2011