REI shuts down on Black Friday to encourage its employees and shoppers to go outside.
Suzi Pratt/REI
While lots of brick and mortar retailers want your dollars on Black Friday (and even on Thanksgiving night), not everyone chooses to welcome shoppers in.
If you’re hungry for a deal, there are plenty of places to shop, but you’ll be disappointed if you show up to one particular outdoor goods store.
Which stores are closed on Black Friday?
So far, the lone wolf is REI, which is closed on Black Friday, Nov. 23. According to a news release, the outdoor recreation company pays its more than 12,000 employees for the day off and adopted the hashtag #OptOutside to promote getting some fresh air instead.
It started doing this in 2015 and it looks like the tradition will continue indefinitely.
What’s closed on Thanksgiving?
Now, if you are looking to shop on Thanksgiving day, your options narrow considerably.
The majority of AT&T and Sprint phone stores will be closed on Nov. 22 for Thanksgiving, though some independently owned AT&T stores and some Sprint mall kiosks might be open, according to BestBlackFriday.com.
Department stores including Burlington, Dillard’s, H&M, Marshalls, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx will be dark.
Hardware store chains like Ace Hardware, Acme Tools, Home Depot and HomeGoods are taking the day off, too, so your handy projects around home might be better tackled over the weekend.
Certain grocery stores like Publix and Trader Joe’s will be closed, so you’ll want to stock up on peanut-butter-filled pretzels before the holiday. Ditto for big-box stores like BJ’s Wholesale Club, Costco and Sam’s Club, so make sure you have enough toilet paper towers in advance.
You won’t be able to rely on the brick-and-mortar locations of Office Depot, OfficeMax or Staples for office supplies, and sport-related stores like Big 5 Sporting Goods, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Patagonia and REI will also be closed.
Banks are closed on Thanksgiving, but reopen on Black Friday.
We’ll update this post if more prominent Black Friday closures are announced.
When is Black Friday 2018? Know when and where to score the best deals.