Stores close on Thanksgiving, but thousands of store employees are still at work

Target (TGT) said Monday it will close all of its stores every year on Thanksgiving from now on, a move that could prompt rivals to follow suit — and make shopping in stores on Thanksgiving Day obsolete.

In 2020, many other chains closed stores on Thanksgiving for the first time, including: walmart (WMT), Best Buy (BBY) and Dick’s sporting goods (DKS). These companies will again close stores over the holidays this year, although none have made permanent changes to their Thanksgiving policies going forward.

Some companies, such as costco (COST) and Do-it-yourself shop (HD), have closed stores on Thanksgiving for years.

That doesn’t mean stores and warehouses will be completely empty on Thursday. Black Friday is fast approaching and retailers need workers to prepare for the biggest shopping day of the year.

A small percentage of Target’s workforce, such as supply chain and service center employees, will still be working on Thanksgiving, a company spokesperson said.

Target said it was working with employees to understand their scheduling preferences early in the season, and employees who work on Thanksgiving will receive additional pay. Most Target stores will reopen at 7 a.m. local time on Black Friday.

Staying open on Thanksgiving has been a source of tension between retailers and labor advocates in the past, especially as many retailers opened their doors over the holidays to try to make a splash on Black Friday.

Labor proponents have argued that workers should be home with their families on Thanksgiving instead.

In recent years, public pressure on retailers to close on Thanksgiving has abated. Workers’ rights groups have instead focused on broader issues such as the minimum wage, benefits and schedules.

Some states, including Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island, have banned the opening of big-box stores on Thanksgiving. A California lawmaker proposed a law in 2016 that would require some companies to double-pay employees for working Thanksgiving, but it didn’t pass.

Why closing on Thanksgiving won’t hurt retailers?

The holiday season used to be marked by a few important days, of which Black Friday was the largest. Shops would use the opportunities to make the most of their holiday sales. But with the growth of online shopping, retailers are no longer so dependent on holidays to boost sales.

Retailers also don’t want everyone to buy at the same time. So in recent years, they’ve started their deals and events earlier and spread them out over the season, which helps to avoid pressure on demand that could put pressure on their stores and delivery networks.

The extended shopping season means stores can close on Thanksgiving without much of an impact on sales.