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2016 Thanksgiving Day shopping: Why many stores are closed until Friday

Posted at 4:34 PM, Nov 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-24 17:34:04-05

After several years of Black Friday shopping bleeding into Thanksgiving Day, many retailers have bucked the trend, especially in Kansas City.

REI stunned the retail business last year when the company announced it would be closed for Thanksgiving. Now, more than 50 national retailers have decided to close their doors for the 2016 holiday.

In Kansas City, Oak Park Mall, Legends Outlets of Kansas City, Zona Rosa and The Plaza are all on board as well.

"We really wanted everyone to be able to be home for Thanksgiving with their family,” said Jennifer Wojcik, GM of Legends Outlets of Kansas City. 

It’s the first time Legends Outlets have been closed on Thanksgiving Day in eight years.

"I think the first couple of years you saw a big boost in sales by opening on Thanksgiving. And then it was pushed earlier and earlier everywhere. But we've seen a lot of really just shifting the sales around throughout the weekend and not necessarily increasing it,” said Wojcik.

Thanksgiving Day sales dropped more than 12 percent last year. Just a few of the large retailers that have decided to close their doors for the holiday in 2016 include: Costco, REI, Home Depot and Ikea.

RELATED | KC toy store ramps up for Black Friday shoppers

However, in response, there are other retailers opening their doors even earlier on Thanksgiving this year hoping to steal foot traffic from their competitors. Retailers opening again on Thanksgiving include: Macy’s, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target and Kohls.

Many Kansas Citians 41 Action News spoke with were in favor of keeping Thanksgiving a family-oriented holiday that doesn’t include shopping.

"I think it's better just to spend time with the family. Make it a family day instead of being so commercial,” said Karl Misner, a metro resident who was shopping at the Legends Wednesday.

"You've had your Thanksgiving lunch with your family and you've probably had more food than you should have, and you don't want to go to work,” said Daniel Kooser, who has had to work retail on Thanksgiving Day for several years until now.

Wojcik is confident Black Friday sales will be higher than in previous years because of the change.

"We're really not gonna see a drop in sales. We're simply going to have it simply shifted back over to the day it's supposed to be on, Black Friday,” she said.

According to the National Retail Federation, nearly 60 percent of Americans plan to shop at some point this holiday weekend.

Where and when to shop this weekend

Complete list of store hours for Thanksgiving and Black Friday can be found here.

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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com

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