Dive Brief:
- J.C. Penney Co. announced plans to open at 3:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving, three hours earlier than any of its major competitors.
- Macy’s, Kohl’s, Sears, Target and many other major retail chains plan to open their stores at 6:00 p.m. local time in the United States.
- Only 12% of shoppers plan to take be first in line for retailers’ Thanksgiving hours this year, while 41% say they will shop on Black Friday itself.
Dive Insight:
J.C. Penney will be the first of the major nationwide retail chains to open its stores on Thanksgiving Day, with more than 1,000 locations set to open at 3:00 p.m. This year’s move beats Penney’s direct competition by three hours, whereas in 2014, the chain opened one hour earlier than the rest, at 5:00 p.m.
Except for Penney, Thanksgiving shopping creep seems to have slowed, with most retailers seeing little benefit to launching “Black Friday” shopping earlier than 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. J.C. Penney will pay workers who volunteer to work a Thanksgiving Day shift double time.
The early opening may help J.C. Penney expand upon its ongoing comeback, however. Since the chain abandoned an effort to de-emphasize discounts and markdowns in 2012 after seeing its sales drop precipitously, it has been growing steadily. Last quarter, J.C. Penney’s sales were up 6.4%, while many direct competitors saw sales declines.
Shoppers aren’t exactly clamoring for expanded hours, though. According to a survey from the International Council of Shopping Centers, only 12% of shoppers are considering shopping on Thanksgiving this year.
