STRONGBRANDS    Professor Tim Calkins, Kellogg School of Management

More and more stores are opening on Thanksgiving Day.  For many years almost every retailer closed on the holiday.  Then a few started opening on Thanksgiving.  This year the trend is clearly accelerating:  Sears, Kmart, Gap, Walmart and Old Navy all will be opening at least some of their stores.

Is this a good idea?

Personally, I don’t like it.  Thanksgiving has always been a rather unique holiday in the United States: a moment of peace before the holiday chaos.  On Thanksgiving, there isn’t a huge focus on opening presents or shopping; it is a quiet day of giving thanks.

For a retailer, closing on Thanksgiving has advantages, too.  It creates more excitement on Friday, as the stores reopen with fabulous deals.  It also leads to happier employees, at least in theory.  They have the day off to recharge and relax with family and then return to work recharged and ready to go.

In terms of the overall economy, having stores open on Thanksgiving isn’t likely to increase total retail sales and profits.  I suspect few consumers will spend more in total just because they can shop on Thanksgiving.  Indeed, opening on Thanksgiving might actually reduce retail profits overall; costs will go up with the incremental selling day, while sales stay fairly flat, reducing overall profit.

Nonetheless, it seems the days of the quiet Thanksgiving are almost over.  Stores are opening driven by the need to capture incremental sales.  And once the trend starts, it is hard to stop it; more and more retailers will join in as each one worries about protecting market share.  Eventually we’ll see huge Thanksgiving Day sales with incredible deals designed to get people away from the turkey, out of the house and shopping.

My advice:  don’t go shopping on Thanksgiving this year.  Enjoy the day, be thankful and relax.  Let the shopping chaos will begin on Friday.  The quiet of Thanksgiving won’t last long.

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