The retail giant is taking a break next month. Last-minute shoppers, take note! Like many other retailers, Walmart has decided to give its employees a full day off in November and December. As a result, many stores will be closed on that day.
The retail giant has officially announced that it will close its more than 4,000 stores at the end of November. Walmart has decided to prioritize the well-being of its workforce and allow employees to spend one of the most important American holidayswith their loved ones. Other retailers have followed suit and announced similar closures for the holiday.
Walmart closing days
We are talking about Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. Although it may seem counterproductive at first glance, stores have been shown to achieve better sales before and after this day. Despite the famous lines of last-minute shoppers that would form on November 28, closing on the holiday has been shown to lead to an increase in revenue and employee morale. After all, rest has a direct impact on productivity and commitment to the company. Even loyal customers have responded positively to the newly introduced tradition.
Well, not entirely new. Walmart has been closing its doors on Thanksgiving Day for six years now. This tradition began as a one-time event in 2020. That grim year was a difficult time for people in retail who had to face the public when COVID-19 was still new in our lives.
In fact, John Furner, CEO of Walmart U.S., said a few years ago that the idea to close on Thanksgiving came from a suggestion made by an employee in Texas during the pandemic.
“We want you to spend the day at home with your family,” the Walmart CEO said in an interview with USA Today at the time. Since introducing this policy, Walmart has received widespread support for keeping its stores closed on Thanksgiving.
Thanks to Walmart’s policy change, 1.6 million employees of the retail giant now have the opportunity to spend the holiday at home. On Thanksgiving, over 4,600 Walmart stores across the U.S. will remain closed throughout the day.
Before this wonderful tradition began, Walmart used to open on Thanksgiving Day to prepare for Black Friday. Now, both customers can enjoy a much-needed break before the winter shopping season begins.
Walmart during Christmas
On the other hand, Walmart has always closed down for the 25th December. Their stores even have an earlier closing time on Christmas Eve, tipically at 6:00p.m..
However, the real historical novelty lies in the Thanksgiving closure. For decades, Walmart was the epicenter of the consumerist madness that is Black Friday. For those too young to remember, it was a common practice for stores to open on Thanksgiving afternoon to allow customers to hunt for bargains to use as Christmas gifts. Today, we enjoy Black Friday from the comfort of our living rooms and shop online, but for decades, this day meant standing in line outside, freezing cold, and preparing ourselves to fight and get aggressive in order to get the latest Tamagotchi set.
As we have already said, the pandemic changed everything. And Thanksgiving has become a much quieter day.
This marks the end of an era of aggressive shopping. Now Walmart prioritizes employee well-being over early sales, and everyone wins: Walmart employees are relaxing at home enjoying their families, and people can stay at home shopping for the latest bargains on Amazon. If the stock runs out before they can make their purchase, they don’t have to fight with anyone… at least not physically.
Apart from Walmart, the following retailers will remain closed during Thanksgiving and Christmas too:
- Target
- Costco
- Sam’s Club
- Best Buy
- Kohl’s
- JCPenney
- T.J. Maxx
- Marshalls
- The Home Depot
- Lowe’s
- Aldi
- Trader Joe’s