Some retailers starting the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving Day

Some retailers starting the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving Day By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.14.16 Word Count 831 Shoppers carry bags as they cross a pedestrian walkway near Macy's in Herald Square in New York City, November 27, 2015, the day after Thanksgiving. Photo: AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File NEW YORK, N.Y. Thanksgiving Day shopping a delight to some, a horror to others is not going away. However, some stores are questioning whether it makes sense to be open on the holiday itself. Some Retailers Choosing To Honor The Holiday Many of the nation's major mall operators and the big retailers that anchor them, such as Toys R Us, J.C. Penney, and Macy's, are sticking with what they want to be a new tradition, kicking off the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving Day. Others, such as the Mall of America, the nation's largest shopping mall, are closing for Thanksgiving this year after being open for the past several years. Those retailers that are closing say they are doing so out of respect for the holiday. In many cases, though, the reason may be economic, as the cost of being open can be more than the return. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

"More retailers are coming to their senses and realizing it is a family holiday," said Stephen Lebovitz, president of CBL, which is closing 72 of its malls for the day. "From a business point of view, it's not making much business sense" to remain open. Retailers Chided For Putting Profits Over Family The practice of stores being open on Thanksgiving started in earnest in 2011. The new shopping day took the punch out of sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which had usually launched the shopping season. Many places like Macy's, Target and J.C. Penney have been opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving as they try to outdo others to get first dibs on customers who could easily buy online. The move has been controversial, however, as many workers have complained that stores are putting profits over workers' time to be with their families. Eighty-nine of the 145 properties that CBL owns or co-owns opened at 6 p.m. on the holiday last year. While dozens of those will be closed this year, others have the option to open on Thanksgiving. Other retailers including Office Depot and consumer electronics chain hhgregg plan to be closed after being open for the past several years. Plenty of retailers, particularly high-end stores like Nordstrom or those like T.J. Maxx that offer discounts every day, never opened on Thanksgiving and have collected goodwill because of that. In reality, analysts say, it is all about stealing share in a market that is not growing that much. Stores Looking To Increase Holiday Sales For department stores, the competition is fierce. Last year, J.C. Penney opened at 3 p.m. for the first time, three hours earlier than its rivals Kohl's and Macy's. That may have hurt Macy's, which had a weak holiday season and aims to reverse a sales slump. This year, Macy's decided to open an hour earlier, at 5 p.m., on Thanksgiving. J.C. Penney still plans to open at 3 p.m., while Kohl's will once again open at 6 p.m. Most Sears stores will be open on Thanksgiving for the fourth year in a row, starting at 6 p.m., the same as last year. Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer electronics chain, suffered over Thanksgiving weekend in 2012 because it did not open until midnight, while stores like Wal-Mart and Target began their sales earlier in the evening. Wal-Mart, Target and Best Buy have not announced their plans for this Thanksgiving weekend. However, all indications are they will start the sales on the holiday. This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

Small Stores, Specialty Stores Opting To Close For many big retailers, the extra expense of paying employees holiday pay is not that significant. However, for small stores or those with specialized merchandise, it may make more sense to close. Some retailers who were open on Thanksgiving in past years were simply pulling Black Friday sales a day earlier. Bob Riesbeck, president of hhgregg, says business on Thanksgiving actually declined after stores began opening at 4 p.m. CBL's Lebovitz says when he surveyed stores in the company's malls this year before deciding to close, the reaction to the idea of closing was "overwhelmingly positive," particularly with the specialty stores. Last year, most of the specialty stores wanted to be open. They did not yet have enough sales information to make a decision, Lebovitz said. This year, many small stores in CBL malls will be closed, but the big stores plan to stay open. Retail sales expert Andy Mantis believes stores should open on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday to maximize their sales. Mantis says the share of buyers who shop on both days has declined. At the same time, the number who shop either only on Thanksgiving Day or only on Black Friday has increased. Mantis believes specialty retailers should think twice about staying closed on Thanksgiving. He says this is especially true if they are near big stores like Macy's that are open. People who visit the big stores on Thanksgiving Day are buying already, he said. They are not always willing to shop again the next day or to "go to multiple stores." This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3

Quiz 1 Which of the following people would be MOST likely to agree with the idea that stores should open on Thanksgiving? Andy Mantis Bob Riesbeck 2 What is the MAIN reason why some stores want to close on Thanksgiving? Workers want to be paid too much for holiday hours. Retailers want to respect the holiday and allow families to spend time with one another. The cost to be open on the holiday is higher than the profits stores make. It is too difficult to compete with major retailers like Target and Best Buy. 3 Read the first sentence of the section "Some Retailers Choosing To Honor The Holiday." Many of the nation's major mall operators and the big retailers that anchor them, such as Toys R Us, J.C. Penney, and Macy's, are sticking with what they want to be a new tradition, kicking off the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving Day. Which phrase from the section provides context clues to help you understand the meaning of "anchor" as it is used in this sentence? big retailers new tradition family holiday business sense This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4

4 Read the sentence from the section "Retailers Chided For Putting Profits Over Family." Plenty of retailers, particularly high-end stores like Nordstrom or those like T.J. Maxx that offer discounts every day, never opened on Thanksgiving and have collected goodwill because of that. The author uses the word "goodwill" to mean: additional revenue satisfied customers positive reputation unhappy employees This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5

Answer Key 1 Which of the following people would be MOST likely to agree with the idea that stores should open on Thanksgiving? Andy Mantis Bob Riesbeck 2 What is the MAIN reason why some stores want to close on Thanksgiving? Workers want to be paid too much for holiday hours. Retailers want to respect the holiday and allow families to spend time with one another. The cost to be open on the holiday is higher than the profits stores make. It is too difficult to compete with major retailers like Target and Best Buy. 3 Read the first sentence of the section "Some Retailers Choosing To Honor The Holiday." Many of the nation's major mall operators and the big retailers that anchor them, such as Toys R Us, J.C. Penney, and Macy's, are sticking with what they want to be a new tradition, kicking off the holiday shopping season on Thanksgiving Day. Which phrase from the section provides context clues to help you understand the meaning of "anchor" as it is used in this sentence? big retailers new tradition family holiday business sense This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 6