Toys R Us Doubles Down With Turkey Day Hours

Retailer announces 30-hour shopping marathon starting at 5pm
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 7, 2016 9:12 AM CST
Toys R Us to Open 30 Hours Straight on Black Thursday
Toy shopping just reached extreme levels.   (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Black Friday has in recent years received a black mark as retailers took criticism for slowly pushing back the mega-shopping event until it actually started on Thanksgiving Day. Some retailers and shopping venues have given in to the backlash: Various malls (such as the Mall of America) and chain stores including RadioShack and Office Depot will be shuttered on Thanksgiving this year, per CNNMoney. But one of the largest superstores is doubling down, then adding a few hours for good measure, USA Today reports. Toys R Us will be opening its doors at 5pm on Turkey Day and keeping them open for 30 hours straight—until 11pm on Black Friday. "Our customers have voted at the doors year after year, and they continue to want the option to get an early start on their holiday shopping lists," Joe Venezia, executive VP for the company's global operations, said in a statement.

But not every consumer feels that way: Per a BestBlackFriday.com poll cited by USA Today, 60.2% of consumers say they'd refuse to shop on Thanksgiving. And Brian Rich, who started the Boycott Black Thursday Facebook page five years ago, tells CNN that while "Walmart, Best Buy, and Target probably won't close on Thanksgiving anytime soon … this movement is clearly having an impact." Patrons definitely still have plenty of other stores they can descend upon after emerging from their tryptophan fog, including Kohl's (a 6pm Thanksgiving Day opening), Macy's (5pm), and JCPenney (3pm), per CNBC. Check out DealNews and BestBlackFriday.com for updates on store openings on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. (24/7 Wall Street notes Toys R Us' finances are spurring it to lure customers to wander its aisles like "[groggy] winners of the 1920s dance marathons.")

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