Walmart reported Friday that it will close the entirety of its U.S. stores on Thanksgiving Day in what they call a “thank you” to representatives for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Closing our stores on Thanksgiving Day is one way we’re saying ‘thank you’ to our teams for their dedication and hard work this year,” said Dacona Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Walmart U.S., in a statement. “We hope everyone will take the opportunity to be with their loved ones during what’s always a special time.”
Stores will work under normal hours the day preceding Thanksgiving. Subtleties on store hours for Black Friday, Nov. 26, will be uncovered sometime in the not too distant future, Walmart said in a proclamation.
In February, Target reported it will close its doors on Thanksgiving Day. It’s the second consecutive year the two retailers shut on the holiday, a trend began in 2020 to some extent to cut back on crowds in the midst of the pandemic.
Last July, Walmart declared it would shut down stores Thanksgiving Day 2020. In a notice to workers, Walmart U.S. president and CEO John Furner recognized “holiday shopping will be different” in the midst of concerns cases of COVID-19 may spike during the holidays.
Thanksgiving possesses ordinarily been a significant time for the two retailers and customers, introducing Black Friday and the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
Notwithstanding, retailers pushed a greater amount of their holiday deals online, and offered options to physically shopping in stores including the expansion of curbside pickup services.
