Dive Summary:

• J.C. Penney has announced it will begin the Black Friday shopping season by opening stores on Thanksgiving night.
• The retail chain will open the majority of its 1,100 brick-and-mortar locations beginning at 8 p.m. and will remain open for 25 hours straight.
• Major retailers Target, Walmart and Gap have not yet announced their plans regarding store hours for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

Dive Insight:

Macy’s has received a degree of public backlash for the decision to open stores on the Thanksgiving holiday, but that doesn’t seem to have deterred J.C. Penney from following suit. The decision is likely geared toward accommodating eager holiday shoppers in order to compete with other major retailers.