The hell of holiday retail

As someone who works in retail, I can tell you the holidays bring mostly hell.  First of all there is the merchandising: somebody in corporate always knows the best way to merchandise no matter whether you are a high volume store or a low volume store, or even where the store happens to be located.  After you do you Christmas set you hear from two kinds of customers, those who love it and those who hate it.  A classic example is "every year it gets earlier."  These complainers don't seem to understand that if people didn't come in and shop the merchandise it wouldn't be displayed.  If they don't like this they need to start throwing bricks as those customers busily browsing away.  This year there were some customers who couldn't wait for the display to be set.  If they buy it early, it will be put out early.

If doors are open, they will shop

This year a lot of people pissed and moaned because some retailers were open on Thanksgiving day.  This is America and American Capitalism rules supreme.  Blame the shoppers, not the retailers.  If a Wal-mart or a Target opens their doors and customers show up, those doors are going to be opened.  If the doors are open, they will shop.  All you need to do is look at history.  At one time all of these United States had what were called Blue Laws.  Stores were not legally allowed to be open on Sundays.  Then supermarkets started staying open.  After a while large retailers began to take notice, Sears and Woolworth's and Montgomery Ward's and they thought, hhhmmm, if the supermarkets are making money then so can we and their doors started opening on Sundays.  Nothing is going to change.  This is America and Americans want to make money.  If that means retailers are going to need to be open on Thanksgiving, they are going to be open.  Americans also like to shop.  They like to think they are getting a good deal.  There is no going back to the way it was.