Toys 'R' Us to Open for 30 Straight Hours Over Thanksgiving

Consumers will once again be able to head straight from the Thanksgiving dinner table to Toys 'R' Us. The toy store chain is opening its doors at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and keeping them open for 30 hours straight. Toys 'R' Us says that once stores open, most won’t close until 11 p.m. on Black Friday. The move shows that while a small group of malls and retailers are closing on Thanksgiving, citing concerns about employee morale and diluted sales, the trend to kick off the holiday shopping frenzy right after the Thanksgiving dishes are cleared isn't fading away.

Total Retail's Take: I'd like to blame Toys 'R' Us for its lack of sensitivity in making its employees work on Thanksgiving Day — and the retailer certainly shares in some of the blame — but the fact of the matter is the company wouldn't be opening its stores on the holiday if shoppers weren't showing up. Consumers need to bear some of the blame here as well. Toys 'R' Us is in business to make money; if opening its stores on Thanksgiving is going to help in that pursuit, that's what it's going to do. If you must shop on Thanksgiving, do retail workers a favor and go online.