July 4th is a pretty big holiday in the USA. If a job doesn’t involve working with customers its workers probably have the day off. But why not retail too? Who really needs to buy something on the 4th?
After dropping a relative at the airport on the 4th of July we thought about swinging by the Costco close to the airport. Costco employees will be enjoying (or so we hope) the 4th with the day off. The 4th is one of seven holiday days that Costco closes each year. Go Costco!
What about other major retailers? Ikea only closes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter Sunday. Walmart only closes for Christmas. On Easter Sunday, New Years Day, and Thanksgiving they’re open with limited hours. Home Depot only closes for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Their parking lot was pretty full at 10:00. Not so the Michaels Arts and Crafts next door. Employees outnumbered customers about four to one.
When checking to see what businesses were open on what holidays a pattern emerged. If a business is only closed for the big two or three (Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving) its holiday hours page will provide a long list of holidays on which its open. For example:
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (MLK Day)
Valentine’s Day
Presidents Day
Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday
St. Patrick’s Day
Tax Day
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Easter Monday
Cinco de Mayo
Mother’s Day
Memorial Day
Father’s Day
Independence Day (4th of July)
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Halloween
Veterans Day
Black Friday
Christmas Eve
New Year’s Eve
Let’s get real. What business do you know that closes on Halloween? Cinco de Mayo? Mothers or Fathers Day? Valentines Day? Tax Day? Mardi Gras? Gee how nice for the fine business to be open on those holidays. Or is this just something to obscure they make people work on Labor Day, Memorial Day and other important holidays?
We’re going to hear a lot about this in a few months when retailers open for Black Friday and Thanksgiving. Not too consistent to make a fuss then and not today.
Banks and the government do a nice job on holidays. All the work excepting essential services close down for holidays with meaning.
Two disclaimers: I’m personally glad nice to have businesses remain open, like grocery stores. I spent a few years in my teens and twenties working for radio stations. More than one Thanksgiving dinner was eaten from a tray in the control room.