Macy’s stays committed to Thanksgiving Day shopping

Macy’s is not joining the ranks of retailers and mall operators who plan to close their doors on Turkey Day. In fact, it’s opening them one hour earlier than last year.



In a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press on Monday, the department store giant said Macy’s stores will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving, with most locations closing at 2 a.m., and then reopening at 5 a.m. on Friday. For the past two years, Macy’s stores opened at 6 p.m. on the holiday. In 2013, which was the first year Macy’s opened on Thanksgiving, stores opened at 8 p.m. and remained open all night.



In its statement, Macy’s cited "ongoing customer interest in shopping on Thanksgiving, both at Macy's and at many other retailers.” It also said it surveyed store employees well in advance about their preferences.



"We are working diligently to staff Thanksgiving with associates who volunteer," Macy's said. "Doing so means that our employees are able to make their own decisions about how they contribute to our most important and busiest weekend of the year."



Macy’s emailed the statement following an earlier report by BestBlackFriday.com, which tracks retailers' holiday hours and promotions. The research company said it received confirmation from five U.S. shopping centers that their Macy's locations would open at 5 p.m. Thursday.



Over the past couple of weeks, a growing number of retailers (notably, most of them are in the non-apparel specialty and big-box sectors) and malls, including Mall of America and CBL & Associates, which operates some 90 centers, have said they will close on Thanksgiving. (Tenants in CBL’s enclosed malls that have exterior entrances can remain open). Many retailers, including Target and J.C. Penney, have yet to announce their store plans for the holiday.