A few years ago (in 2016 to be exact) I wrote about the death of Thanksgiving as a holiday https://beckypalmer.me/?p=857 When I wrote that more and more stores were opening up on Thanksgiving and I thought – as many others did- that in a few years time Thanksgiving would be no more of a holiday than Arbor Day.
I’m happy to admit that I was wrong! In recent years there has been a HUGE pushback against stores being open on the 4th Thursday in November. Most large retailers- including Macys, Costco, and Wal-Mart- are now closed on Thanksgiving Day.
And you know what? I don’t know a single person who is upset about this. I’m sure someone somewhere really wants to go shopping for crappy electronics and the like on a cold Thursday afternoon, but thankfully they are few and far between. I know people who LOVE going out early on Black Friday. Without exception, they are happy they can stick to their traditions and still be able to stick around for pie after their turkey dinner. And maybe even get in a little sleep before the shopping to boot!
Of course, in part because of the shitshow that was 2020, Black Friday isn’t what it used to be anyway. Many stores – I’d go so far as to say most stores- are already offering “Black Friday” deals. I did some shopping (from my couch) this weekend and got great deals on several gifts (I’m being purposely vague since Christmas isn’t here yet). When it comes to electronics- the sort of big ticket items commonly shopped for on Black Friday – long gone are the days when retailers sold the previous years’ leftovers at a huge discount. Now, most of the models and sometimes even the brands of TVs, laptops, etc. found in Black Friday ads are cheaply made for the sole purpose of being sold to shoppers who haven’t done their research. And of course online shopping means you don’t have to leave your house to shop anytime, day or night.
At the end of the day, I am not concerned with figuring out exactly what’s caused the reversal in in person shopping options on Thanksgiving Day. I’m just happy I was wrong about this one. Now we just have to do something about people putting up Christmas decorations the day after Halloween……