During the pandemic, both Walmart and Target closed their stores on Thanksgiving Day citing their COVID-19 protocols, but now both stores will continue the practice into the 2021 holiday season.

Both stores announced their planned Thanksgiving Day closures earlier in the year. Now, Target has confirmed its decision will be permanent.

“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard — one that recognizes our ability to deliver on our guests’ holiday wishes both within and well beyond store hours,” Target CEO Brian Cornell wrote in a note to employees, according to CNBC.

As for Walmart it will keep stores closed on the holiday, but has not announced plans for the future.

“Throughout the pandemic, our associates have been nothing short of heroic in how they have stepped up to serve our customers and their communities. Closing our stores on Thanksgiving Day is one way we’re saying ‘thank you’ to our teams for their dedication and hard work this year,” Dacona Smith, the executive vice president and COO of Walmart U.S., wrote in a corporate blog posted in June.

Both companies used to keep their stores open on Thanksgiving Day to get ahead of the Black Friday surge and compete with online retailers like Amazon, but that practice did little to boost business. Instead, the companies are now pushing online sales.

Target has indicated that distribution and call centers will still have minimal staff on Thanksgiving Day. Both stores will be open the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and for Black Friday, with Walmart opening at 5 a.m. local time and most Target locations opening at 7 a.m. local time on the same day.

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Get into the holiday spirit as early as now and shop away with these great online stores. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
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