How retailers decide holiday hours
Every fall, shoppers ask the same question: is the store open? The answer comes from a decision retailers work through in the fall — part labor math, part foot-traffic data, and part public-relations calculus. Here's how that decision actually gets made, and what it means for the 2026 holidays.
Published October 1, 2026. As of this date, no major retailer has published its 2026 Thanksgiving or Black Friday store hours. Everything below is the decision process plus verified facts — never guesses presented as hours.
The first variable: is it worth paying people to be open?
The core of the decision is a simple comparison: the cost of staffing the store versus the sales the extra hours are expected to produce. On a holiday, both sides of that equation move against opening. Wages for holiday shifts cost more, and — critically — Thanksgiving foot traffic stopped justifying the expense years ago.
Retail analyst Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics summed up the industry's thinking when Target made its move permanent in 2021: retailers are asking "whether it's worth spending money on labor and other costs to open on Thanksgiving when shoppers are turning more to online shopping and away from physical stores."
Labor conditions make that math harder, not easier. Challenger, Gray & Christmas projected on September 23, 2026, that U.S. retailers will hire roughly 450,000 seasonal workers in the fourth quarter — below 2025's 461,500 and the third consecutive annual decline. With tighter seasonal staffing, covering an extra holiday shift costs more and stretches teams thinner.
The second variable: where did the sales actually go?
The decisive discovery of the pandemic years was that closing on Thanksgiving didn't kill the sales — the sales moved. In 2020, Thanksgiving Day online spending trailed only Cyber Monday and Black Friday, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index. Shoppers didn't stop buying; they bought from the couch.
Retailers responded by stretching the season instead of stretching the day. In November 2021, Target told employees the shift to an extended holiday event with deals beginning as early as October had turned out well: the National Retail Federation reported November–December 2020 holiday sales rose 8.2% from 2019 even with most big stores closed on Thanksgiving. If the revenue lands anyway, the holiday shift becomes optional.
That logic is still driving the 2026 calendar. Retailers are pulling promotions forward again: Walmart runs a weeklong event starting October 5, 2026, and Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and Target Circle Deal Days run October 6–7. Every sale that lands in October is a sale that doesn't need a Thanksgiving doorbuster.
The third variable: employees and public goodwill
Money isn't the whole story. Thanksgiving openings drew years of criticism for forcing employees to work a family holiday — and the closures drew the opposite reaction.
Target is the clearest case. After closing on Thanksgiving 2020 to limit crowds, CEO Brian Cornell made the policy permanent in a November 2021 note to employees: "What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard." He said the response from employees and guests had been "so positive" that the change was staying — "one thing we won't 'get back to' when the pandemic finally subsides." As of the 2026 season, that policy is still in place: Target stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Walmart has followed the same path, closing on Thanksgiving every year since 2020 and making a fresh announcement each fall. As of October 1, 2026, Walmart has not yet published its 2026 Thanksgiving hours — but the established pattern is closure, with stores reopening early on Black Friday.
Costco never needed convincing: closing on Thanksgiving and Christmas is a long-standing company policy, and the chain has never opened on Thanksgiving.
Why nobody announces holiday hours in September
This is the part shoppers find strange: the biggest shopping days of the year, and no hours posted two months out. The reason is that hours decisions ride on top of promotional calendars — and those calendars don't lock until October. Official Thanksgiving hours announcements from chains like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Kohl's have historically clustered in the last two weeks of October.
So the honest answer to "is the store open on Thanksgiving 2026?" right now is: we don't know yet — and neither does anyone else outside the chain's operations team. Any page that claims to show 2026 hours today is guessing. Our holiday 2026 roundup tracks exactly what has been confirmed so far, and we'll publish each chain's official hours the day retailers announce them on the Thanksgiving 2026 hub.
What the decision looks like, chain by chain
These are the established patterns — not predictions, and not announcements:
| Chain type | Typical Thanksgiving decision | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Big-box (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Kohl's) | Closed since 2020; early Black Friday opening | Online substitution absorbed the sales; labor costs rose |
| Warehouse clubs (Costco, Sam's Club, BJ's) | Closed | Long-standing policy; members plan around it |
| Grocery & drug (Kroger, CVS, Walgreens) | Mixed — reduced or regular hours | Thanksgiving groceries are last-minute business |
| Home improvement (Home Depot, Lowe's) | Closed | Low holiday foot traffic for the category |
The grocery and drug rows are where the decision is genuinely hardest — and where checking your local store matters most. For the current status of every major chain, see our Thanksgiving 2026 hours hub, Christmas 2026 hours hub, and Black Friday 2026 opening times.
Summary
Retailers decide holiday hours with three inputs: the cost of staffing the holiday shift, where the sales actually go (increasingly online), and the employee and public goodwill of giving people the day off. Since 2020, the answers have converged: most big-box chains close on Thanksgiving because the sales moved online without the shift. Official 2026 hours typically get announced in the last two weeks of October — as of October 1, 2026, none have been published.
The single most important point
Until a retailer publishes it, 2026 holiday hours don't exist. Plan around established patterns if you must — but confirm with the local store or the chain's official announcement before you go. Join the Holiday Insider and we'll email you the moment each chain confirms.
Frequently asked questions
Has any retailer announced 2026 Thanksgiving store hours?
No. As of October 1, 2026, no major retailer has published its 2026 Thanksgiving or Black Friday store hours. Official announcements typically arrive in the last two weeks of October.
Why did Target permanently close on Thanksgiving?
Target CEO Brian Cornell made the closure permanent in November 2021, saying the response from employees and guests to the 2020 closure had been "so positive." He cited the shift to an extended holiday sales season starting in October and the ability to serve guests online "within and well beyond store hours."
Will Walmart be open on Thanksgiving 2026?
Walmart has not published its 2026 Thanksgiving hours as of October 1, 2026. It has closed on Thanksgiving every year since 2020 and announces the decision each fall — the established pattern is closure, with stores reopening early on Black Friday.
Why do retailers announce holiday hours so late?
Hours decisions ride on top of promotional calendars, which don't lock until October. Historically, official Thanksgiving hours announcements from major chains cluster in the last two weeks of October.
Is Costco open on Thanksgiving?
No. Closing on Thanksgiving (and Christmas) is long-standing Costco company policy; the chain has never opened on Thanksgiving.
Sources
- PYMNTS via Associated Press (Nov 22, 2021): Target to close permanently on Thanksgiving Day — pymnts.com
- Associated Press via TMJ4 (Nov 22, 2021): Target to keep stores closed on Thanksgiving for good — tmj4.com
- PopCulture (2024): Why Target isn't open on Thanksgiving anymore — popculture.com
- Associated Press via WVLT (Nov 2025): What's open on Thanksgiving — wvlt.tv (Walmart/Target 2025 Thanksgiving status)
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas (Sept 23, 2026): 2026 holiday hiring outlook — challengergray.com
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