JCPenney Will Open At 5 P.M. On Thanksgiving Day For People Who Sort Of Like Their Families

Image courtesy of (smohundro)

JCPenney is apparently 11 hours less desperate for business than discount retailer Kmart, but 3 hours more desperate than it was last year. The department store chain announced today that it will open at 5 PM on Thanksgiving Day. Last year, it opened at 8 P.M. on the holiday.

Staples announced that it will open only briefly on Thursday evening, from 6 to 10 P.M., then close for eight hours and re-open at 6 A.M. Kohl’s will open at 6 P.M. on Thursday, then remain open until the end of the day on Friday.

Both of these stores also opened at 8 P.M. last year.

Like many things in national retail, all of these hours are void where prohibited: blue laws in many municipalities and counties and a few states prohibit stores from opening on Thanksgiving Day. Some retailers, including Costco, Nordstrom, GameStop, BJ’s, and other chains to come have announced that they will not be open on the holiday. That doesn’t mean that no one will be working on the holiday at all, especially for stores that will open exactly at midnight, but it’s better than whatever the heck it is that Kmart thinks it’s doing.

More Black Friday 2014 shopping hours and some news from Tops [Syracuse.com]
More retailers announce earlier opening times on Thanksgiving [Los Angeles Times]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.