October 15, 2013
Macy’s Employees to Work Thanksgiving
Macy’s employees will be working on Thanksgiving — and we’re not talking about at the company’s annual parade. The department store chain, which has kept its stores closed on Thanksgiving Day for its 155 years in business, will break with tradition and open its doors at 8 p.m.
The department store chain is promoting the early opening as a way for shoppers to grab special Black Friday deals before the clock officially begins on that day. In a press release to announce the early opening, Macy’s said its move was "consistent with many other retailers."
The company said it tried to minimize the impact on associates by giving them "the time to review available shifts throughout the holiday season, including on Thanksgiving weekend, and to volunteer for the shifts they prefer."
Reactions to the move were mixed. Some lamented the loss of time with family and friends to commercialism, while others were happy for the shopping diversion and a chance for Macy’s employees to pick up some holiday hours.
- Macy’s Announces Spectacular Black Friday Deals – Macy’s
- Most Macy’s stores will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving – USA Today
- Macy’s to open on Thanksgiving for the first time – The Washington Post (tiered sub.)
- Macy’s to break with tradition, open Thanksgiving at 8 p.m.: employees – Chicago Sun-Times
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Discussion Questions
Do you think Macy’s made a smart decision to open on Thanksgiving? How do you think the early opening will affect the chain’s business this holiday season?
Poll
Macy’s is following other retailers in being open Thanksgiving Day. All hope to ring up early holiday sales. In doing so, they trample the idea of Thanksgiving as a day for families and friends to gather and give thanks for the good things in their lives. I hope that the retailers are able to man their stores with willing workers and do not force employees to show up that day.
Retail, it’s 24 X 7. Expect the rest of the retail community to follow.
It isn’t smart. It isn’t dumb. It is business. If enough shoppers are willing to go, open the doors! The idea that this is still some Norman Rockwell holiday has passed decades ago.
The bigger Thanksgiving Day decision is whether to watch 12 hours of NFL or NCAA football. The ratings will suggest there are few people spending much time giving thanks.
I still want to hold on to the Norman Rockwell idea (with football included). Shame on them for what they are doing to their employees. And for anyone who says you can’t run a good company and make a lot of money being closed when your competition is open, look at Chick-fil-A. They could have stayed closed and used it as a PR opportunity.
People with important jobs and responsibility often work on Thanksgiving and we should be grateful they do. I doubt anyone has to work a 24 hour shift that day so somewhere along the line, they can take some time off. I used to think it was awful to have to work Thanksgiving Day. Now I find it’s a great day to fly off to someplace cheap. So yes, if this is what Macy’s needs to do to compete, it’s a smart decision.
I think it is a mistake to expect employees to work the holiday as well as to expect customers to give up family time on a holiday in order to get to the sales first. I hope the customers will not shop on this day in order to prove to retailers that it isn’t worth their investment or the negative impact on employee morale. I also think that they are getting the sales a day earlier and it will translate to reduced sales on the Friday following.
Anything for the almighty dollar. I think this one is going to backfire. At least I hope so.
Sorry to be dramatic, but it feels to me as if we’re in the end times. The United States Government is poised to default on debts it has already incurred, which will ravage the dollar. We’re trillions in debt. Our education system fails a big portion of its students. And Macy’s is going to open on Thanksgiving, depriving its associates and managers of a day with their families? What is going on??
I suppose if Macy’s thinks it’s good for their image and bottom line to put themselves in the same playing field as Walmart and Kohl’s on Thanksgiving, then who am I to judge? But I will say that to me, it flies in the face of their wanting to pretend that they maintain the mantle and the magic and are still the great American store akin to Marshall Field’s and all the other classic great American stores they gobbled up.
I have no idea how this might affect their business later this holiday season, but I seriously doubt if their core customers and the people who can afford to shop there will be rushing out to Macy’s at 8:00 on Thanksgiving night.
I must agree that this is overdue in face of a continuously groping economy and, as it is, the (remaining) competition. So what’s the big deal about Macy’s part in the downgrading of another holiday event? The answer is simple, public opinion. Not as it pertains to Macy’s efforts to compete on a level playing field against the market. But how it adds to the erosion consumer enthusiasm and participation and therefor reducing sales and profits for the whole market economy.
As to the question, I am certain it is never a good decision to add to the possibility your own demise in any way.
Why the outrage? In the era of granular retail labor optimization, no doubt some Macy’s employees will be grateful to get the extra hours prior to the holidays.
Who needs to rush out on Thanksgiving to buy a sweater or sheets or a new coffee maker – really? They may ask who wants to work these shifts, but if not enough volunteer then someone who wants to be home will be put on the schedule. It is a shame that retailers are pushing people to shop all 4 days of a long weekend.
You have to appreciate the irony behind Macy’s decision to open on Thanksgiving. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a 3-hour long retailer’s promotions dream that’s been running since 1924. Macy’s is also the symbol behind a much-loved classic holiday film, “Miracle at 34th Street” which celebrates the joy that comes from making children happy over profits (remember, Santa referred customers to Gimble’s when Macy’s didn’t have the item they were looking for). Even Macy’s “Believe” campaign is based on the famous 1897 New York Sun’s editorial response to Virginia’s question, “Is there a Santa Claus”?
So for a company that is so steeped in tradition and continues to leverage its place in history as one of the reasons why, year and year, families should shop at their stores, is now joining the rest of the retail pack and opening on Thanksgiving Day.
I’m not shocked or surprised that Macy’s has changed in response to increased pressure from traditional and online-only retailers, but what they now need to do is drop the “holier than thou” act in their advertising before others call them out on it.
Not to worry, though – karma will prevail. In cities where Macy’s depends on its employees to “volunteer” in support of Macy’s sponsored events on Thanksgiving, these employees may be called into work leaving inexperienced newbies to fill in. Or Macy’s may call in the part-time/floater personnel to work the night shift and since they are not used to the obscene amount of in-store traffic associated with “doorbuster” deals and ‘midnight madness” shopping, customer service will be non-existent, shrinkage will be off the charts and shoppers will leave the store disgusted by the experience. In addition, with a government shutdown and minimal wage increases, Macy’s shoppers will probably wait until it’s “final clearance, with an additional 30% off, plus an additional 10% for using their Macy’s card” before making those holiday purchases.
We knew it was going to be a tough year for retailers when the layaway and holiday commercials starting airing in late August, but now it appears that it could also be a joyless shopping season. Thanks, Macy’s.
For me and my son, Thanksgiving evening last year involved standing in line for a flat-screen TV smirking at everybody who didn’t get in line earlier. I actually enjoyed that experience for what it was worth.
Just being open on Thanksgiving will not be good enough, there has to be some game plan or incentive for the customers to leave their home.
Ohhhhhhh Noooooooo, et tu Macys? You are the bastion of Thanksgiving and you have succumbed to the almighty dollar! What next?
“Smart”?…I don’t know, but inevitable yes. Traditionalists, get ready to really get enraged, because Christmas day opening can only be a few years away. (Whether the Whoville Mall will be included, TBD).
This is a sad watermark in the retail industry. Macy’s has in effect admitted that its primary competitors are discount houses, and that it is not on par with fine stores like Von Maur, Nordstrom, and even appliance giant P.C. Richards, all of whom have avoided spoiling the holiday, and are doing very well financially.
All these earlier and earlier openings do is dilute business from the rest of the holiday shopping season, and give many talented people another reason to avoid work in retail at any and all costs. The type of shopper who is drawn to these Thanksgiving weekend loss leaders are hardly profitable customers, and yet a store like Macy’s is courting them like anything.
How sad….
I am thankful for my employees and being an independent, and I don’t have to listen to anyone but my employees, my wife, and my own conscience. Having Thanksgiving off is good for my employees, and everyone can enjoy the day without being away from their families. I don’t care what other stores do, but grocery shopping for a cool whip is not essential services, so for those of us who have off, be thankful. After all, it is Thanksgiving.
This was somewhat inevitable. There are very few major chains that have been able to resist the inexorable march towards 24×7 consumerism (e.g. Chick-fil-A closing on Sundays).
Although the family-oriented side of me would like to say that it is outrageous to ruin a family holiday like this, particularly for the employee who has to work that day, I do have to agree that it is neither a good nor a bad decision, but rather a business decision. If Macy’s think that it can earn extra profit on a sustainable basis by being open on Thanksgiving, then this decision makes sense from a business perspective.
As for the employees, many retailers have holiday sign-up lists for people to volunteer if they want to work that day, and they can usually get enough people interested in those holiday shifts without having to schedule those who want the day off. If they do have to go down the road of scheduling employees, some retailers will pay time and a half and others will provide other incentives (free lunches etc.) to motivate employees to work on a holiday.
As for family-time, the fact that Macy’s is open on a holiday doesn’t prohibit a family from avoiding retail, or from spending time together. If that is important to a certain family, they can simply choose not to go. For those who don’t care, they now have the option to go shopping one more day in the year.
As for their business, there might be a short-term revenue bump versus other retailers that are not open on Thanksgiving, but that advantage will go away if/when the competing alternatives open on Thanksgiving as well. It really seems to be a matter of whether Macy’s wants to declare Thanksgiving to be a working day before its competitors do, or do so after the fact. Either way, it is not a long-term strategy that is going to make much of a difference, merely a tactic that may bring some short-term business benefit.
Macy’s could have stood up and said this is not right and we value our employees’ time with their families. But they decided to join the others and become a follower rather than a stand-up leader. It again shows there is no leader when it comes to retail management.
This is industry driven because of shopper willingness to destroy their own Thanksgiving Day with shopping. With approximately 362 other days in the year, this is a very sad statement on our current-day society. This ruins the holiday for the retail workers and let us remember that this IS a national holiday. This is only going to progress and get worse – Kmart is open all day now, for several years. This IS sad and pathetic.
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Macy’s is following other retailers in being open Thanksgiving Day. All hope to ring up early holiday sales. In doing so, they trample the idea of Thanksgiving as a day for families and friends to gather and give thanks for the good things in their lives. I hope that the retailers are able to man their stores with willing workers and do not force employees to show up that day.
Retail, it’s 24 X 7. Expect the rest of the retail community to follow.
It isn’t smart. It isn’t dumb. It is business. If enough shoppers are willing to go, open the doors! The idea that this is still some Norman Rockwell holiday has passed decades ago.
The bigger Thanksgiving Day decision is whether to watch 12 hours of NFL or NCAA football. The ratings will suggest there are few people spending much time giving thanks.
I still want to hold on to the Norman Rockwell idea (with football included). Shame on them for what they are doing to their employees. And for anyone who says you can’t run a good company and make a lot of money being closed when your competition is open, look at Chick-fil-A. They could have stayed closed and used it as a PR opportunity.
People with important jobs and responsibility often work on Thanksgiving and we should be grateful they do. I doubt anyone has to work a 24 hour shift that day so somewhere along the line, they can take some time off. I used to think it was awful to have to work Thanksgiving Day. Now I find it’s a great day to fly off to someplace cheap. So yes, if this is what Macy’s needs to do to compete, it’s a smart decision.
I think it is a mistake to expect employees to work the holiday as well as to expect customers to give up family time on a holiday in order to get to the sales first. I hope the customers will not shop on this day in order to prove to retailers that it isn’t worth their investment or the negative impact on employee morale. I also think that they are getting the sales a day earlier and it will translate to reduced sales on the Friday following.
Anything for the almighty dollar. I think this one is going to backfire. At least I hope so.
Sorry to be dramatic, but it feels to me as if we’re in the end times. The United States Government is poised to default on debts it has already incurred, which will ravage the dollar. We’re trillions in debt. Our education system fails a big portion of its students. And Macy’s is going to open on Thanksgiving, depriving its associates and managers of a day with their families? What is going on??
I suppose if Macy’s thinks it’s good for their image and bottom line to put themselves in the same playing field as Walmart and Kohl’s on Thanksgiving, then who am I to judge? But I will say that to me, it flies in the face of their wanting to pretend that they maintain the mantle and the magic and are still the great American store akin to Marshall Field’s and all the other classic great American stores they gobbled up.
I have no idea how this might affect their business later this holiday season, but I seriously doubt if their core customers and the people who can afford to shop there will be rushing out to Macy’s at 8:00 on Thanksgiving night.
I must agree that this is overdue in face of a continuously groping economy and, as it is, the (remaining) competition. So what’s the big deal about Macy’s part in the downgrading of another holiday event? The answer is simple, public opinion. Not as it pertains to Macy’s efforts to compete on a level playing field against the market. But how it adds to the erosion consumer enthusiasm and participation and therefor reducing sales and profits for the whole market economy.
As to the question, I am certain it is never a good decision to add to the possibility your own demise in any way.
Why the outrage? In the era of granular retail labor optimization, no doubt some Macy’s employees will be grateful to get the extra hours prior to the holidays.
Who needs to rush out on Thanksgiving to buy a sweater or sheets or a new coffee maker – really? They may ask who wants to work these shifts, but if not enough volunteer then someone who wants to be home will be put on the schedule. It is a shame that retailers are pushing people to shop all 4 days of a long weekend.
You have to appreciate the irony behind Macy’s decision to open on Thanksgiving. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a 3-hour long retailer’s promotions dream that’s been running since 1924. Macy’s is also the symbol behind a much-loved classic holiday film, “Miracle at 34th Street” which celebrates the joy that comes from making children happy over profits (remember, Santa referred customers to Gimble’s when Macy’s didn’t have the item they were looking for). Even Macy’s “Believe” campaign is based on the famous 1897 New York Sun’s editorial response to Virginia’s question, “Is there a Santa Claus”?
So for a company that is so steeped in tradition and continues to leverage its place in history as one of the reasons why, year and year, families should shop at their stores, is now joining the rest of the retail pack and opening on Thanksgiving Day.
I’m not shocked or surprised that Macy’s has changed in response to increased pressure from traditional and online-only retailers, but what they now need to do is drop the “holier than thou” act in their advertising before others call them out on it.
Not to worry, though – karma will prevail. In cities where Macy’s depends on its employees to “volunteer” in support of Macy’s sponsored events on Thanksgiving, these employees may be called into work leaving inexperienced newbies to fill in. Or Macy’s may call in the part-time/floater personnel to work the night shift and since they are not used to the obscene amount of in-store traffic associated with “doorbuster” deals and ‘midnight madness” shopping, customer service will be non-existent, shrinkage will be off the charts and shoppers will leave the store disgusted by the experience. In addition, with a government shutdown and minimal wage increases, Macy’s shoppers will probably wait until it’s “final clearance, with an additional 30% off, plus an additional 10% for using their Macy’s card” before making those holiday purchases.
We knew it was going to be a tough year for retailers when the layaway and holiday commercials starting airing in late August, but now it appears that it could also be a joyless shopping season. Thanks, Macy’s.
For me and my son, Thanksgiving evening last year involved standing in line for a flat-screen TV smirking at everybody who didn’t get in line earlier. I actually enjoyed that experience for what it was worth.
Just being open on Thanksgiving will not be good enough, there has to be some game plan or incentive for the customers to leave their home.
Ohhhhhhh Noooooooo, et tu Macys? You are the bastion of Thanksgiving and you have succumbed to the almighty dollar! What next?
“Smart”?…I don’t know, but inevitable yes. Traditionalists, get ready to really get enraged, because Christmas day opening can only be a few years away. (Whether the Whoville Mall will be included, TBD).
This is a sad watermark in the retail industry. Macy’s has in effect admitted that its primary competitors are discount houses, and that it is not on par with fine stores like Von Maur, Nordstrom, and even appliance giant P.C. Richards, all of whom have avoided spoiling the holiday, and are doing very well financially.
All these earlier and earlier openings do is dilute business from the rest of the holiday shopping season, and give many talented people another reason to avoid work in retail at any and all costs. The type of shopper who is drawn to these Thanksgiving weekend loss leaders are hardly profitable customers, and yet a store like Macy’s is courting them like anything.
How sad….
I am thankful for my employees and being an independent, and I don’t have to listen to anyone but my employees, my wife, and my own conscience. Having Thanksgiving off is good for my employees, and everyone can enjoy the day without being away from their families. I don’t care what other stores do, but grocery shopping for a cool whip is not essential services, so for those of us who have off, be thankful. After all, it is Thanksgiving.
This was somewhat inevitable. There are very few major chains that have been able to resist the inexorable march towards 24×7 consumerism (e.g. Chick-fil-A closing on Sundays).
Although the family-oriented side of me would like to say that it is outrageous to ruin a family holiday like this, particularly for the employee who has to work that day, I do have to agree that it is neither a good nor a bad decision, but rather a business decision. If Macy’s think that it can earn extra profit on a sustainable basis by being open on Thanksgiving, then this decision makes sense from a business perspective.
As for the employees, many retailers have holiday sign-up lists for people to volunteer if they want to work that day, and they can usually get enough people interested in those holiday shifts without having to schedule those who want the day off. If they do have to go down the road of scheduling employees, some retailers will pay time and a half and others will provide other incentives (free lunches etc.) to motivate employees to work on a holiday.
As for family-time, the fact that Macy’s is open on a holiday doesn’t prohibit a family from avoiding retail, or from spending time together. If that is important to a certain family, they can simply choose not to go. For those who don’t care, they now have the option to go shopping one more day in the year.
As for their business, there might be a short-term revenue bump versus other retailers that are not open on Thanksgiving, but that advantage will go away if/when the competing alternatives open on Thanksgiving as well. It really seems to be a matter of whether Macy’s wants to declare Thanksgiving to be a working day before its competitors do, or do so after the fact. Either way, it is not a long-term strategy that is going to make much of a difference, merely a tactic that may bring some short-term business benefit.
Macy’s could have stood up and said this is not right and we value our employees’ time with their families. But they decided to join the others and become a follower rather than a stand-up leader. It again shows there is no leader when it comes to retail management.
This is industry driven because of shopper willingness to destroy their own Thanksgiving Day with shopping. With approximately 362 other days in the year, this is a very sad statement on our current-day society. This ruins the holiday for the retail workers and let us remember that this IS a national holiday. This is only going to progress and get worse – Kmart is open all day now, for several years. This IS sad and pathetic.