Here’s what stores are open and closed in Columbus on Thanksgiving Day
Before many have cleared their Thanksgiving plates or put away leftover turkey, shoppers will be lining up at retail stores and malls , ready to get the best deals of the year on big-ticket items and smaller holiday purchases alike.
Many stores will open as early as 5 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.
Columbus area shoppers will be among the 165.3 million people across the country expected to shop in stores and online from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation.
Top picks for presents to go under the Christmas tree this year will be clothing and accessories followed by gift cards, toys, books, music, movies and video games, and food and candy, the NRF says.
And while the line between Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday sales have long been blurred, research shows that customers are shopping earlier, and stores are offering deals sooner, than ever before.
“This is a function of different retailing strategies, with companies offering deals online and having sales earlier than last year,” said Dr. Dora Brock, an associate professor of marketing at Auburn University. “Target, for instance, launched a preview Black Friday sale on November 8-9, in which customers could get the same deals as those that will be offered on Black Friday.”
And more than half of consumers have already started their holiday shopping, according to a survey released November 21 by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.
The survey found 56% of consumers asked during the first week of November had already begun their holiday shopping, about the same as the past few years, but up from 48% 10 years ago.
“This is further evidence that the holiday season has grown far beyond the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Thanksgiving is still a hallmark of the season, and there’s billions of dollars in shopping still to come. But many consumers have already been shopping for weeks, and retailers are increasingly adapting to that.”
NRF has forecast that sales will total between $727.9 and $730.7 billion between November 1 and December 31 this year.
According to a NRF survey released in October, consumers expect to spend and average of $1,047.83, an increase of 4% over last year.
Spending is expected in brick-and-mortar shopping hubs in Columbus like Columbus Park Crossing, Peachtree Mall, The Landings, Bradley Park and Cross Country Plaza, along with the city’s downtown and midtown areas, particularly for Small Business Saturday.
A selection of popular doorbuster items will appear in advertising circulars available in the Ledger-Enquirer’s Thanksgiving paper.
Thanksgiving Day store openings, according to each store’s website:
Shoe Station: 6 p.m.
Walmart: 6 p.m.
Target: 5 p.m.
Kohls: 5 p.m.
Best Buy: 5 p.m.
JCPenney: 2 p.m.
Macy’s: 5 p.m.
Big Lots!: 7 a.m.
Dick’s Sporting Goods: 6 p.m.
GameStop: 3 p.m.
Michaels: 5 p.m.
Old Navy: 3 p.m.
Ulta: 5 p.m.
Peachtree Mall Hours
Thanksgiving Hours for most stores are 6 p.m. to midnight on Thanksgiving and 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Black Friday.
Stores not opening on Thanksgiving are Dillard’s and At Home. At Home will be open Black Friday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Dillard’s will be open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Black Friday.
Macy’s Thanksgiving hours are 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Black Friday hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
JCPenney Thanksgiving hours are 2 p.m. to midnight and Black Friday hours are 12:01 a.m. to 10 p.m.