Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, retailers open their doors early so that consumers can purchase items at a discounted price. However, over 100 retail stores will not be participating in the national shopping holiday this year.

Black Friday is the top-selling shopping event for many retailers. This is usually the day that many stores increase their sales revenue. Although Cyber Monday has become increasingly popular, Black Friday has remained popular because many shoppers still enjoy the experience of going to their favorite stores for the best deals of the season.

This has progressively changed the way families spend their Thanksgiving. For years, many families have argued over whether or not to participate in the ever-popular national shopping holiday because of the attention it tends to detract from the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday. As the Black Friday sales begin earlier every year, many people choose to spend their Thanksgiving night in a tent outside of department stores. Employees are also ripped away from their families in order to serve consumers on this holiday.

According to the National Retail Federation, over 174 million people shopped in stores and online in last year’s Black Friday weekend, which usually begins with Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving evening and ends on the next Monday (Cyber Monday).

However, this year many retailers have decided to close on Thanksgiving.

Here is a list of retail stores not participating:

• A.C. Moore
• Abt Electronics
• Academy Sports + Outdoors
• Ace Hardware
• Acme Tools
• Allen Edmonds
• American Girl
• At Home
• AT&T (Company-owned stores)
• Barnes & Noble
• Big 5 Sporting Goods
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Blain’s Farm & Fleet
• Bob’s Discount Furniture
• Burlington
• Christopher & Banks
• Cost Plus World Market
• Costco
• Craft Warehouse
• Crate and Barrel
• Dillard’s
• Dressbarn (most stores)
• El Dorado Furniture
• Fleet Farm
• Gander Outdoors
• Gardner-White Furniture
• Guitar Center
• H&M
• Half Price Books
• Harbor Freight Tools
• Hobby Lobby
• Home Depot
• HomeGoods
• Homesense
• IKEA
• JOANN Stores
• Lamps Plus
• Lowe’s
• Mall of America
• Marshalls
• Mattress Firm
• Menards
• Micro Center
• Music & Arts
• Nebraska Furniture Mart
• Nordstrom
• Nordstrom Rack
• Northern Tool
• Office Depot & OfficeMax
• Outdoor Research
• P.C. Richard & Son
• Patagonia
• Pep Boys
• Petco
• PetSmart
• Pier 1 Imports
• Publix
• Raymour & Flanigan Furniture | Mattresses
• REI
• Sam’s Club
• Sierra Trading Post
• Sportsman’s Warehouse
• Sprint (Stores closed unless mall decides otherwise; mall kiosks may open)
• Staples
• Stein Mart
• Sur La Table
• The Container Store
• The Original Mattress Factory
• The Paper Store
• TJ Maxx
• Tractor Supply Co.
• Trader Joe’s
• Trollbeads
• Von Maur
• West Marine

Hopefully, this lack of participation in Black Friday sales may rekindle the tradition of a family-focused Thanksgiving in homes this holiday season.

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