Walmart has announced that it will be closed on Thanksgiving 2023, marking the fourth year in a row that the nation’s largest retailer is giving employees the day off.
“Thanksgiving is such a special day, during a very busy season, we want you to spend that day at home with family and loved ones,” John Furner, president and C.E.O. of Walmart U.S. announced in a video.
While Walmart and some other major retailers used to have at least limited hours on Thanksgiving, those companies began closing their doors during the holiday in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic began.
Companies had once capitalized on Thanksgiving as an early start to Black Friday shopping. However, a handful of major big-box retailers have now made it clear that they would close on the holiday for the foreseeable future.
“It’s a thing of the past,” Furner said during an interview with the “Today” show last year when asked if the company would stay open during the holiday.
In 2021, Target CEO Brian Cornell also announced that its stores would be closed on Thanksgiving Day “moving forward.”
“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard,” Cornell told employees in a note before the 2021 holiday season.
Costco, BJ’s, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Home Depot and TJX Companies were among the companies that closed on Thanksgiving last year.
