Should Department Stores Be Open on Certain Holidays? Essay Example

Isn't consumer shopping an unprecedented dilemma during the holidays? Being a compulsive shopper, in some holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mothers and Fathers, I am torn between being with my family and going out for shopping, which in these holidays, departmental stores offer awesome discounts. However, in most instances, I am not faced with a dilemma during 4th of July, Presidents holiday, and memorial days among other holidays that do not fall on a Sunday. The same pattern can be noted for most individuals.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

According to a survey conducted by Accenture, 45% of consumers plan on shopping during Thanksgiving Day or evening, where almost half of them physically visit the stores between 1800hrs on Thanksgiving Day and 0500hrs on Black Friday. However, as reported by RichRelevance consumer poll, approximately six in ten Americans (60%) dislike it when stores open on Thanksgiving, while only 12% claimed that they like shopping on this day. Also, in line with this assertion, E! News Online, as reported by Jenna Mullins (2015), 30 stores refuse to open during the Thanksgiving day, including American Girl, BJs Wholesale Club, REI, Crate & Barrel, Gamestop, and Home Depot among others.

Opening stores in Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, as well as Mothers/Fathers days affects individuals tremendously because it makes them choose either to stay with their families or go shopping because at this time, many retail stores offers goods at a discounted price and capitalize on promotional coupons. Take for instance, Wal-Mart offers at least 20% coupon discount during Thanksgiving and Black Friday on its products as evidenced by Coupons.com (2015). As a result, people buy these coupons so that they can receive discounts and save on the products forgetting that they are squandering quality time that would otherwise be spend with their kids and the entire family.

Because Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, as well as Mothers/Fathers days usually fall at a time when people have been given leave or some days off, it is usually a great time when family members should spend time together instead of wasting it away for shopping endeavors. It has been made clear by Accenture that holiday shopping season is competitive, and thus, the majority of retailers will respond to this by extending the holiday season as late as possible. Therefore, families do not have to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, as well as Mothers/Fathers days doing shopping, rather, they should capitalize on the extended period. Instead, they should have some quality time together as a family. For instance, as reported by Lucia Moses, a TJX representative told ThinkProgress that the company considered itself associate friendly, and was pleased to give their associates time to enjoy Thanksgiving with their families and friends (Brad, 2015). Additionally, Paul Nowak, the assistant general secretary of Trade Union Congress (2015) trading time for retailers during Sundays take away vital family time for shop employees. On the other hand, 4th of July, Presidents holiday, and memorial days are usually not family oriented, and thus, shopping would not hurt family relationships. As such, retail stores should be closed in Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mothers and Fathers but open in 4th of July, Presidents holiday, and memorial days for businesses to leverage on the profits.

Wouldnt it be nice to take your family on vacation on Thanksgiving or Christmas? It isnt encouraging to sacrifice the happiness of your family with material things. Besides, when you focus on shopping on these days, you will probably forget about your grandma and grandpa, wont you? Therefore, I expect that many of you agree with me that spending time with your family will be more rewarding, at least emotionally, than succumbing to a shopping spree. However, to capitalize on the discounts that stores offer, you can shop on days that are not family oriented. I know they are many. 4th of July, Presidents holiday, and memorial days are some of them, arent they? Besides, these retail stores extend their shopping vouchers and coupons in the whole holiday season, thus you wont be left out by the discounts.

References

Accenture. 'U.S. Consumers Plan To Increase Holiday Spending This Year, Supported By Greater Optimism About Personal Finances, Accenture Study Finds'. Newsroom.accenture.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

Coupons.com. '80% Off Walmart Coupons, Promo Codes, Coupon Codes 2015'. Coupons.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

Mullins, Jenna. '30 Stores That Refuse To Stay Open on Thanksgiving'. E! Online. N.p., 2015. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

Tuttle, Brad. 'Two Dozen Retailers Won't Open On Thanksgiving--And theyre Shaming The Ones That Will'. MONEY.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.

Trade Union Congress (TUC). 'Sunday Trading Would Take Family Time From Shop Workers, Warns TUC'. Trade Union Congress. N.p., 2015. Web. 26 Nov. 2015.