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Will The Mall Of America’s Thanksgiving Closure Set A Holiday Trend?

Over the past few years, an increasing number of retailers made the decision to stay open on Thanksgiving Day, garnering mixed feedback from consumers, employees and the retail community.

But the Mall of America recently announced that its doors will stay closed this Thanksgiving so that employees can stay home with their families. More retail brands such as Costco, The Home Depot, GameStop and Staples are taking the initiative to shutter their stores, giving employees a chance to enjoy the day.

The RTP team discusses whether the Mall of America is making the right choice in shuttering its doors on Thanksgiving Day, and whether this move will affect other retailers’ plans on the holiday.

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Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief: Since the news broke that the Mall of America will not open on Thanksgiving Day 2016, we’ve learned that dozens of others are following suit, including Sam’s Club, T.J. Maxx, PetSmart, Neiman Marcus and Lowe’s. Yes, RichRelevance has reported that the percentage of shoppers who are “annoyed” with stores being open on Thanksgiving Day has declined as much as 10% between 2014 and 2015, down to 55% from 65% the previous year. Personally, I’m annoyed by it, but I don’t think I’m a typical shopper. I applaud the retailers that say they’re not opening on the holiday to allow employees to spend time with family. It appears that this is a gray area on both sides, so if retailers experienced a surge in sales last year the $$ dollar signs may blind them from thinking about the well-being of their employees.

Adam Blair, Executive Editor: Far be it from me to question the altruism of Mall of America’s management, which cited its desire to give employees a real holiday with their families on Thanksgiving Day in its decision to close the mall. But this may be one of those times when hard-headed business calculations coincide with the better angels of our nature. The fact is that more and more of the commerce taking place over the entire Thanksgiving weekend has a letter “e” or “m” preceding it. In fact, in 2015, the number of cyber-shoppers edged out the number of store shoppers on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, 103 million to 102 million. Store shopping is still vital to most retailers’ holiday plans, but it looks as if the incremental sales, or the competitive edge, that a retailer gains by opening up on Thanksgiving Day represents smaller and smaller potatoes. It’s less about keeping the doors open and more about keeping the servers up and running.

Alicia Fiorletta Esposito, Content Strategist: It’s so funny to me that a few years ago, retailers were dead set on keeping their doors open Thanksgiving Day — regardless of what the general public had to say. Criticisms from retail analysts, fellow executives, consumers and employees aside, they saw staying open as a new opportunity to boost store sales and kick off a successful holiday season. Evidently, retailers have changed their tune. It could be due to the fact that retailers have spent the past year fighting to maintain store foot traffic and have even divested in stores. At the same time, digital sales have continued to soar. Why rip your store associates away from their families on the holiday merely to achieve so-so results? It makes zero sense, in my opinion. I’m hoping that the Mall of America is only the first of many retailers that rethink their strategy and instead, focus on creating awesome digital marketing campaigns that inspire consumers to browse and buy online.

David DeZuzio, Managing Editor: Some of my younger cousins worked in retail throughout their high school and college years and it was always disappointing to see them race out of the house to get to work after an incredible Thanksgiving meal. So, I applaud the Mall of America (and the others who did the same). Yes, from a consumer’s perspective, it’s great to take advantage of all the sales, but, when half of the family spends a significant amount of time going through flyers or preparing to go to work — rather than enjoying their Turkey Day time together — it takes away from the meaning of the holiday. I know, cue the pilgrims playing miniature violins. From a retailer’s side, I see this as a nice gesture to employees, but it certainly is risky as brick-and-mortar locations are far from safe these days. Holidays aren’t subtracted from monthly overhead costs, so there is an essential need to make some extra gravy on a day chock full of, well, gravy. Of course, those that have perfected their omnichannel offerings may be able to offset the day’s in-store loss of income with some tasty e-Commerce trimmings. For now, let the lucky retail employees who benefit from this enjoy a small slice of a victory. They deserve it.

Klaudia Tirico, Features Editor: This is a unique topic because I see the pros and cons of both sides of the story. I can’t be mad at the Mall of America for closing its doors on Thanksgiving in order to allow its employees to spend time with family. But I would question how this decision came about. Did they ask all employees if they preferred to skip work on the holiday or did the Mall of America just assume so? I ask because, sometimes, people aren’t in the position financially to miss a day of work. And given the amount of Thanksgiving sales occurring on the holiday, I would imagine they wouldn’t mind the extra boost in commission (if they get it). Of course, it is a bold move for the Mall because foot traffic in stores is a crucial element to brick-and-mortar success. But let’s be honest, if there are consumers who decide to shop on Thanksgiving Day, they will do so whether or not one Mall is closed. Adam also makes a great point: the number of online shoppers on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday beat out the number of shoppers in stores. It would be smart for the retailers with stores inside The Mall of America (or any store that plans to stay closed on a holiday) to offer online deals to encourage shoppers to spend online — just not at the Thanksgiving dinner table, I hope!

Glenn Taylor, Associate Editor: As Adam indicated, the Mall of America situation is great for all parties involved, but it wouldn’t surprise me if retailers decided to throw in the towel this year more due to the realization that closing the store is no longer a financial risk. Good on all retailers that take a stand and make Thanksgiving Day much easier for store employees — regardless of the actual meaning behind it — since operating on the day is still a feasible option. Hopefully with e-Commerce front-and-center from the beginning of Thanksgiving week all the way into Cyber Monday, more brands can concede the brick-and-mortar chaos for at least one day in 2016. While there are still many major brands that more than likely do rely on that single day to reel in a ton of physical retail sales, they could perhaps look to the story of REI’s #OptOutside campaign to see what happens when enough awareness is raised to sit out a major holiday sales day. Once again, this social campaign illustrates just how important that earnest connection with consumers continues to be, especially as more shoppers seek out fulfilling experiences.

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