December 10, 2012
Macy’s Extends 24-Hour Holiday Shopping
Raising the bar for other retailers, Macy’s last week announced that most of its stores will be open continuously in the 48 hours leading up to Christmas Eve.
Starting Dec. 21 at 7 a.m., most Macy’s stores around the country will stay open for 48 hours straight as part of its last "One Day Sale" of the season. And 57 stores will welcome customers for another 24 hours after that up until Christmas Eve. Of those 57, 34 will remain open until 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve.
"For the first time ever, Macy’s will keep most stores open around the clock for the last weekend of holiday shopping, an expansion of our successful marathon that began at select stores in 2006," said Peter Sachse, Macy’s chief stores officer, in a statement. "We hope to make it easy for our customers across the country to finish their shopping at any time of day or night, and with the benefit of the great deals and value they count on from our One Day Sale events."
Last year, only 14 of Macy’s roughly 800 stores received the ultra-extended-hour treatment, opening for 83 hours straight beginning Dec. 21. In addition, 27 were open until 2 a.m. on those same three nights, although closed in the later hours. Macy’s began its 24-hour holiday-shopping hours with its Queens Center location in New York in 2006.
Other retailers are also expected to offer extended hours. Last year, Toys ‘R’ Us stayed open for 112 consecutive hours leading up to Christmas Eve but has not yet announced its holiday hours this year.
Extended hours, including some stores opening for the first time on Thanksgiving, is said by some to have boosted sales over Black Friday weekend to help launch the holiday shopping season. Others argue that extended hours only lead to earlier rather than incremental sales overall and also lead to extra costs and strain on staff.
But rather than the deal-hunter, the extended hours around Christmas Eve is positioned as a convenience for last-minute shoppers.
Speaking to St. Louis Today, Macy’s spokeswoman Andrea Schwartz said some shoppers come in wearing Santa hats and other festive garb to make the late night shopping expedition an occasion. But the extended hours also offer a convenience for many last-minute buyers, some of whom are taking care of children all day or working irregular hours. She added, "And whether it’s a right thing or not, we’ll often see people pushing their babies in carriages."
- Macy’s Opens for 48-Hours Straight Nationwide for Last-Minute Shoppers the Weekend Before Christmas – Macy’s
- Macy’s Holiday Gift to Shoppers: Staying Open 48 Hours Straight – Bloomberg News/Bloomberg Businessweek
- Retailers Feeling Pressure for Longer Store Hours, as Macy’s Announces 48-Hour Openings – ABC News
- Retailers Feeling Pressure for Longer Store Hours, as Macy’s Announces 48-Hour Openings – Bloomberg News/100 WAPI
- Retailers bring Black Friday-like hours to December – St. Louis Today
- Macy’s plans to stay open for 48 hours straight – MSN Money
Discussion Questions
Do extended hours make more sense in the days before Christmas than they do around the Thanksgiving Day weekend? Do you thinking 24-hour shopping on the days just before Christmas will become standard in retailing in the years to come?
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The merchandise is in the stores. The rent is paid. Many employees are happy to make some additional money during the holidays. So why not stay open?
This allows consumers to shop whenever they want. And it offers a point of differentiation with other retailers.
I think customers expect stores to be open when they want/need to shop so the crunch time before Christmas is perfect for staying open 24 hours.
This can easily become the standard a way to capture more sales when the online shopping window has expired to get your gift in time for Christmas.
This is probably better for the associates than opening on Thanksgiving.
I can see the sales opportunities in extending hours the days before Christmas. But endless opening hours strike me as being as practical as wasting our wisdom—and our indignation too—for a rainy day.
Each example of extended opening hours sets a new standard in retailing. Retailing is fearful of silence.
The extended hours at Thanksgiving are good for the early shoppers and the ones just before Christmas work well for those that have not yet finished their shopping. To me, the ones just before Christmas make more sense, but both seem to have found an audience.
That being said, I do hope 24 hour shopping does not become the standard. Not sure if those who work retail appreciate any extra hours or overtime they may get more than they would a more normal schedule.
Extended hours before Christmas makes more sense than opening Thanksgiving day. While I personally hope this does not become the norm; I do see this as an act of desperation on the part of the retailers who choose to do this.
Extended hours closer to Christmas make a lot more sense than opening on Thanksgiving, not that that it’s a fair comparison given how many retailers have opted for the latter. There are always procrastinators and there are also late-season opportunities for consumers to spend (year-end bonuses, etc.). Given how often Macy’s has One-Day Sales these days, this is right on course for them.
I think the 24-hour shopping that close to Christmas makes sense, and there will be a number of employees who would happily work overnight to avoid the crowds.
I do hope they make working past 6 PM or so on Christmas Eve voluntary. While I’m sure there are plenty of employees who don’t celebrate Christmas who will be happy to work it, it would be a shame if managers and others who celebrate it were required to work until 2 AM.
24/7 is the new normal. Makes perfect sense to offer this convenience to their customers. For Star Rewards members offer extended benefits—free gift wrap, carry gifts to your auto, call ahead with a personal shopper picking out items on your last minute list. For male buyers who are historically last minute leading up to Xmas Eve, this is the perfect opportunity to be truly last minute! The jewelry and fragrance departments at Macy’s are likely loving it.
I think this is one for the customer. What do they want and prefer?
Around the clock? Why not just extend hours till 2:00 a.m.?
I hope that sales associates will receive combat pay for these shifts. And it will be interesting to see if this practice is profitable enough to earn another go next year.
Keeping the door open around the clock before Christmas is festive, competitive and will meet a market demand. Many shoppers are frantically buying on Christmas eve (and Mother’s Day Eve and Valentine’s Day eve)….so this makes good business sense. Don’t forget the gift-wrapping service.
The extended hours around Thanksgiving are about promotion and hype around the feeding frenzy for bargains. Extended hours before Christmas are more of a service to consumers and addresses a true need for those who have busy lives and tough schedules. Addressing true needs should do more to build long-term loyalty than contributing to a hype cycle.
Since all the previous comments have been positive I will take the devil’s advocate position.
First, closing is an incentive to shop and buy. They’re giving that away to their competitors that are closing earlier.
Furthermore, there is a tipping point that balances the reason for the holiday and gross consumerism. Sure, it’s good for customers if they haven’t yet made all their purchases. And no doubt Macy’s has the metrics to prove it’s a good decision. But, inside, something feels wrong about this. I hope Macy’s, and other retailers that follow suit, know the difference between pleasure and pain.
Extended hours before Christmas will appeal to the many last minute shoppers. Folks are out there on Dec. 24th due to either work schedules or indecision, and depend on doing their shopping later rather than sooner. They are on a different mission than the Black Friday shoppers.
For these 12/24 shoppers, they would welcome helpful gift suggestions and enough staff. For the employees, the right incentives could make this win-win.
Given that Christmas is the end destination of the holiday giving season, extended shopping hours makes perfect sense. The big question that this strategy raises is whether or not consumers will hold off on their last-minute shopping until literally the last minute in order to get the lowest possible prices.
24 hour shopping before Christmas clearly will become the norm, in the same way that late-night Black Friday events have become ingrained in customer behavior.
I suppose opening around the clock only makes sense when consumers can shop 24/7 online. Maybe, if they get lucky, those extra hours may even turn out to be profitable.
You know what is coming next: Macy’s, or another big retailer, will open on Christmas. Stores are already opening on Thanksgiving night, and next year it will be an hour or several hours earlier. Then, they’ll decide to open on Christmas night as a “convenience” to those who don’t want to wait for after-Christmas sales. And, so it goes………..
I am dubious as to a 24 hour shopping day being profitable in those middle of night hours. I agree with Ms. Hotka, the reduced staffing plan will put fewer folks on the floor to match up with late night denizens. Those in charge of the cash wrap and monitoring changing rooms will count the hours until sunrise. Oh and then there are the shoplifting teams.
Or as we like to say, “retail ain’t for sissies.”
As people’s lives are more complex and busy closer to the holidays, extended hours make a lot of sense. And if the stores don’t do it, online retailers will.
Eventually, competitive pressure and media hype may lead others to follow Macy’s. Using e-commerce to complement in-store sales can help to target these buyers, who cannot shop during regular hours. Though lack of integration of multi-channel retailing and exclusive offers for in-store sales will require in-store visits.