Target has decided to make the holiday closure a permanent policy.
In years past, Target retail locations would remain open on Thanksgiving in the hopes of enticing customers with early Black Friday sale rollouts. This was rather unpopular with Target employees, as not only did it mean having to work on a holiday, but having to manage the expectations of a sale-hungry crowd as well. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing last year, Target was forced to make a policy change, closing the store on Thanksgiving and instead offering its sales for longer periods.
This temporary change ended up being surprisingly profitable for Target, as the extended sales brought their total holiday sales up by about 8.2%, all while giving employees Thanksgiving off and cutting down on the surging Black Friday crowds. As such, Target announced today that they have decided to make this a permanent policy change.
“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard — one that recognizes our ability to deliver on our guests’ holiday wishes both within and well beyond store hours,” Target CEO Brian Cornell wrote in a note to employees.
Target will keep its stores closed on Thanksgiving Day, permanently ending a tradition of opening its doors early for Black Friday shoppers. The move follows a shift last year, when retailers extended holiday sales to limit the number of people in stores. https://t.co/oEoYWMFlBS
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 22, 2021
Physical Target locations will be completely closed on Thanksgiving, with only a few employees on hand at distribution and call centers. Meanwhile, Target has already launched its Black Friday sales ad, and those sales will be available until November 27, giving customers more time to come in and shop at their leisure or shop online instead of having to crowd the store. This has the side benefit of keeping the in-store crowds level, which is helpful while there’s still some uncertainty surrounding COVID-19.
