H&M and Nordstrom to close on Thanksgiving

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Nov 12, 2015

A number of retail chains are going against the grain this holiday season by closing up shop on Thanksgiving. H&M is the latest of a number of retailers to announce that it will close all of its US stores on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26. The Swedish retailer joins Costco, Sam’s Club, Staples, GameStop and Petco who have also decided to close on the national holiday.

Nordstrom will also close all of its US stores on Thanksgiving, something the company has been practicing for years. The retailer took things a step further by announcing that it will not display Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving. “We won’t be decking our halls until Friday, November 27. Why? Well, we just like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time,” said a sign at Nordstrom.
 
RichRelevance surveyed 1,000 American shoppers and found that 65% “hate or dislike” retailers opening stores on Thanksgiving Day. Retailers get a jump on Black Friday traffic by opening stores as early as midnight on Black Friday, and other retailers open on Thanksgiving evening, namely Macy’s, Sears, Kohl’s, Target and Walmart that will all open at 6pm on Thanksgiving Day this year.

The response by Nordstrom, H&M, and even REI that is closing even on Black Friday, restores the Thanksgiving holiday and reverses the idea that the last weekend of November is simply a sale-shopping period.
 
Retailers aren’t waiting for Black Friday to start its winter sale season and are starting weeks earlier. Neiman Marcus for example advertises a 40% off “First Call” sale on its website and GANT offers the same discount. Nordstrom will offer its Black Friday discount on Thanksgiving Day, according to Digiday. The website also cited a Forrester report that said holiday sales are expected to reach $95 billion in November and December this year. The report also says customers have less negative associations with Cyber Monday than Black Friday.
 
A move to month-long store sales and online sales may be imminent for retailers.