Sheboygan – Like it or loathe it the holiday shopping season is approaching, and retailers are slashing prices in preparation for Black Friday.
In Manitowoc and Sheboygan counties, more than a dozen stores will open their doors on Thursday, to get a leg up on the competition.
Opening times are unchanged from a year ago at many of the area’s largest retailers, including Best Buy (5 p.m.), Boston Store (5 p.m.), Kohl’s (6 p.m.), Target (6 p.m.) and Walmart (6 p.m.).
Plenty of retailers, including T.J. Maxx and Hobby Lobby, have never opened on Thanksgiving and have collected goodwill because of that.
Some retailers that are closing cite respect for the holiday, but in truth the cost of being open may be more than the return.
“Once you let the genie out of the bottle, it’s hard,” said Stephen D. Lebovitz, president and CEO of CBL & Associates Properties, a mall operator that is closing 72 of its malls for the day. “More retailers are coming to their senses and realizing it is a family holiday and from a business point of view, it’s not making much business sense.”
The trend gained momentum in 2011 and has continued as chains try to steal share in a market that’s not growing much, though it’s taken a punch out of sales on Black Friday, which had usually launched the shopping season.
But the move has been controversial, as many workers have voiced complaints that stores are putting profits over workers’ time to be with their families.
Surveys show Friday is still the preferred shopping day for most bargain hunters.
A National Retail Federation survey found that among people planning to shop over Thanksgiving weekend, 21 percent plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day, and 74 percent plan to shop Friday.
