Thanksgiving closings could have unintended consequence

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University retail expert says the flurry of retailers announcing Thanksgiving Day closings may be hurting business despite the altruistic intent. Mall of America and retailers like hhgregg Inc. were among the first to announce stores would remain closed on Turkey Day, citing the opportunity to allow employees to share the day with family.

Richard Feinberg, a professor of retail management and interim head of the Department of Consumer Science, said the move could hurt business.

“While it may seem like a family-friendly and ‘nice’ thing to do for employers to close or reduce hours, it is short-sighted and may have unintended negative side effects,” Feinberg said.

He said if the cost of opening the store exceeds profit then perhaps the move is wise. He believes there is ample research to suggest the contrary.

“Many employees actually like working the extended hours and really like the extra money they can make,” Feinberg said. “Our research at Purdue suggests this might apply to more than 50 percent of the employees.”

Feinberg said opening on Thanksgiving in recent years may have been more about protecting market share than profit.

“If a customer is forced to spend their money someplace else they may find that someplace else has more stuff, better stuff, better price, better experience than ‘you’ do, and you may never see them again,” he said. “Or when they think of something else to buy two weeks later they may go to that other place first.”

Feinberg offers another warning to retailers who have online competitors. “Closing the store forces consumers to go to Amazon or some other site they find after they go to Google.”

A growing list of national retailers have announced they will close Thanksgiving Day, including Home Depot, Costco, T.J. Maxx, Lowe’s, Staples, Sam’s Club, Neiman Marcus, Barnes & Noble, Hobby Lobby, Dillard’s, Ikea, PetSmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond among others. 

Writer: Howard W. Hewitt, 765-494-9541, hhewitt@purdue.edu 

Source: Richard Feinberg, xdj1@purdue.edu