The holiday shopping season is steadily approaching.
For shoppers, it’s an ideal time to score deals on popular items. For retailers, it’s an opportunity to grab a greater chunk of bargain hunters’ dollars.
But come Thanksgiving on Nov. 22, not all major names will open their doors for business. In fact, according to aggregated content site BestBlackFriday.com, about 60 retailers will close their brick-and-mortar stores that Thursday — the most confirmed closures since the list got its start three years ago.
“With Black Friday and Thanksgiving foot traffic slowly decreasing and online sales booming, many stores find it unnecessary to open their doors on Turkey Day,” said Phillip Dengler, BestBlackFriday.com’s head of editorial and content marketing.
A day before the big Black Friday sale, department stores Dillard’s and Nordstrom, including Nordstrom Rack, will be closed. Off-price chains Marshalls, Sierra Trading Post and TJ Maxx as well as athletic and outdoor retailers like Academy Sports + Outdoors, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Patagonia, REI and Sportsman’s Warehouse will also not be open. The same goes for fast-fashion giant H&M and women’s clothing store Dressbarn.
While retailers have their own reasons for closing shop, one of the more agreeable explanations pertains to family time.
“As a family-oriented store, Academy Sports + Outdoors keeps its locations closed on Thanksgiving because we believe it is important to provide our team members and customers the opportunity to spend more time with family and friends,” the sporting goods chain said in a statement shared on BestBlackFriday.com.
Similarly, a spokesperson for TJX Companies added: “We consider ourselves an associate-friendly company, and we are pleased to give associates the time to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends.”
The news comes shortly after a Deloitte study forecasted a rise of between 5 and 5.6 percent in U.S. retail sales this holiday season, potentially topping $1.1 trillion between November and January.
Last year, the National Retail Federation found that more than 174 million Americans shopped both in stores and online during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend that ended with Cyber Monday.
(BestBlackFriday.com said it has received confirmation about the closed stores through a representative or PR contact from each of the retailers.)
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