Some retailers choosing to close on Thanksgiving

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, has long been a major winter holiday shopping event, with sales and promotions slowly expanding to the day of Thanksgiving itself in recent years.

This year, a growing list of major national retail and wholesale stores are deciding to opt out of the Thanksgiving shopping day by remaining closed on Thursday, Nov. 24 in order to give employees a day with their families. Independent garden centers often close on Thanksgiving, but their big-box rivals appear to be going in the same direction.

A list on www.theblackfriday.com displays the dozens of companies staying closed on Thanksgiving, including competitors such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Pier 1 Imports, PetSmart and many more.

Ramon Avila, professor of marketing at Ball State University, says many retailers choose to stay closed on Thanksgiving in order to boost employee morale.

"Over the past few years, we’ve heard a great deal of moaning and groaning by employees who have to come into work while their family is at home, enjoying Thanksgiving," Avila says in a press release. "People simply don’t want to walk away from young children or older relatives on what is supposed to be a very special day in our country."

The Thanksgiving break also give retail employees a much-needed rest before the massive shopping holiday of Black Friday, Avila adds.

"Many employees feel overworked and stressed," he says. "With the economy in much better shape, these same workers may be facing larger crowds this year than in the past."

In its holiday forecast, the National Retail Federation anticipates that sales in November and December (excluding autos, gas and restaurants) will increase 3.6 percent from last year to more than $655 billion.