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Thanksgiving 2022 store hours updates: Walmart and Trader Joes will be closed on the holiday
Big name retailers such as Walmart and Target will no longer open on Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving is officially here, retailers have decided whether they plan to stay open during the holiday or close their doors for the day.
In years past, it was not uncommon for big name stores to welcome customers on Thanksgiving, or open on Thanksgiving evening, hours before the official start of Black Friday.
However, the pandemic has seen the practice change over the last three years, with many retailers that used to open on the last Thursday of every November now shut for the holiday.
Walmart and Target are among the retailers that have announced permanent closures on Thanksgiving moving forward.
But that doesn’t mean that the closures have become the norm across the board, as there are many retailers that will remain open today.
Starbucks is one retailer that plans to welcome customers on the holiday, while certain supermarkets, such as Whole Foods, will also be open this Thanksgiving.
For everything to know about the retailers that will be open this Thanksgiving, and those that will be closed for the holiday, follow along with our liveblog below.
Most Whole Foods locations will be open but operating on limited hours on Thanksgiving. However, some locations will be closed, with customers encouraged to check hours of their local Whole Foods.
Most CVS locations will be open on Thanksgiving, with hours differing by location. You can find more about your local CVS here.
Wawa stores will also be open on Thanksgiving. While some hours may vary by location, 24-hour locations will operate as usual.
Most Rite Aid locations will be operating as usual on Thanksgiving as well. However, some hours may differ, with customers encouraged to check Rite Aid’s website for more information about local stores.
Kroger locations will be open on Thanksgiving but will close at 4pm.
Dollar General stores will also be open on Thanksgiving from 7am to 10pm.
While the amount of closures this year may be surprising, they come after the pandemic forced many companies to close on Thanksgiving in 2020 and 2021.
For many companies, the change to holiday hours amid the pandemic has become permanent, with retailers such as Walmart and Target announcing they have no intention of returning to the days where stores were open on Thanksgiving.
According to Walmart’s CEO John Furner being open on Thanksgiving is “a thing of the past”.
“It’s a thing of the past, we’ll be closed on Thanksgiving,” he told Savannah Guthrie on the Today show last month.
Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell, announced last year that the store will be closed on Thanksgiving, going forward.
“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard — one that recognizes our ability to deliver on our guests’ holiday wishes both within and well beyond store hours,” he said. “Thanksgiving store hours are one thing we won’t ‘get back to’ when the pandemic finally subsides.”
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