On Friday Walmart announced that all its stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, joining other retail behemoth Target in shutting its brick-and-mortar stores on the national holiday for the 2nd year in a row.
Target announced its decision to close on Thanksgiving in January.
In what had become a manic tradition, consumers kicked off their holiday shopping in earnest the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. But in an attempt to get ahead of competitors, some retailers had been shifting the kickoff of Black Friday events earlier, and earlier, and earlier.
Many companies began starting holiday sales near Halloween, but closed stores on Thanksgiving Day and kicked off promotions online in order to reduce crowds that could potentially contribute to the virus’ spread and also to say thank you to their frontline workers.
Walmart Chief Operating Officer Dacona Smith said in a press release that closing stores on Thanksgiving ” is one way we’re saying thank you to our teams for their dedication and hard work this year.”
Walmart said it will soon share hours for Black Friday.
