The Pros and Cons of Opening on Thanksgiving

The great retail debate: Are you opening on Thanksgiving or not? Should small businesses participate in this rush to be the first to open or should that competition stay between the big box stores?

There are pros and cons to opening on Thanksgiving and staying closed for the day, and it’s really up to you to take all this information and decide what works best for your company. If you need some help deciding what to do this year, here are some points to consider:

 

Reasons for Opening on Thanksgiving Day:

1. Gain customers. You may drive traffic away from big box stores, encouraging people to shop local. Any opportunity to do that is a win for small businesses!
2. People are out there. Some people need something active to do after a big Thanksgiving meal, and shopping is the perfect activity for people to do as a family or escape from visiting family.
3. It’s not all or nothing. And really, you don’t need to be open all day. Most people are busy cooking or preparing meals during the morning and midday, so any time after 5pm would be an ideal time to open on Thanksgiving.
4. Get into the festive spirit. You can create an entire contest around Thanksgiving Day shopping. Offer giveaway prizes, a percentage off, or a special Thanksgiving day treat with any purchase. Make sure you market the event well; if you are going to host a giveaway, whether online with your social media accounts or in-store, make sure people know about it and can plan ahead for their shopping trip. People love a good bargain and a good giveaway!
5. Employees need holiday money. Your employees may appreciate the extra income. In addition to the extra income, this gives you an opportunity to allow your team to be part of the decision process. If you do Thanksgiving day right, your employees might actually appreciate the opportunity to make extra cash before the holiday season. But if you ask them to work a normal 8-hour shift, they might not be too happy about that. Let them come up with a plan that would work for everyone in the business. That’s the great thing about being a small business owner – your workers are part of your work family and taking their opinions and needs into account will go a long way, especially on a day that is all about appreciation and family.

 

Reasons to Remain Closed on Thanksgiving:

1. The holiday is about family. You take away family time from your workers. And if you are planning to work Thanksgiving day, you take away family time from yourself as well.
2. You look like you’re missing a heart. No, it’s not just the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz or Scrooge in a Christmas Carol. If you stay open during a holiday, some people will view your management negatively. Some have strong feelings about businesses that decide to open on Thanksgiving. You may turn off some of your regular patrons who feel that Thanksgiving is a sacred day, and not meant for shopping.
3. Your customers don’t expect it. If you haven’t opened on Thanksgiving before, you risk having no business at all. Your customers may assume you’re closed for the day.
4. You must market. If this is new for you, you not only need to staff your business but you must bring people in the door. How will you do that? How will y9ou get the word out? If you don’t have time to market accordingly, you could be facing a ghost town.

 

Opening on Thanksgiving Day is not for every business. It might make more sense for you to start your specials on Black Friday, or wait for Small Business Saturday. For restaurants and food establishments, you may want to put feelers out now to see if people would want a Thanksgiving or catered meal from your restaurant.

And for retail, deciding to open should be based on your clientele, your employees, and your ability to market your special hours and bring traffic in the door.  Don’t be afraid to try something new if it means introducing people to the importance of shopping local, especially if you’re in a location with a lot of tourism this time of year.

Anything people can do with their family is a great thing to promote – especially when it encourages them to shop local! But the cons might outweigh the pros for you, so do what’s best for your business.