Walmart, the nation's biggest retailer and the largest private employer will be closing all U.S. stores on Thanksgiving for the second consecutive year. Walmart says it's a "thank you" to employees who have worked so hard during the pandemic.

A "thank you" to employees is not the only reason Walmart will be closing this Thanksgiving, however. Walmart is also concerned about the safety of its customers. Early Black Friday deals in the past have created massive crowds that caused unruly actions by otherwise calm and civilized individuals, trying to get their hands on sale items that were in limited supply.

Walmart executives are following the actions of Target officials who announced in January that Target stores would be closing on Thanksgiving 2021.

Closing our stores on Thanksgiving Day is one way we're saying "thank you" to our team. -Dacona Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Walmart U.S.

For over a decade, Walmart opened its doors on Thanksgiving Eve for early sales. This move created tremendous revenue on thanksgiving for the retail giant. Those robust sales would continue throughout Black Friday and through the weekend as well. COVID-19 and crowd control are making large retails such as Walmart and Target rethink in-store sales. Instead of having in-store sales, major retailers are shifting consumer savings to items on their websites.

Walmart executives are convinced the new way to generate revenue on Thanksgiving and Black Friday post-COVID-19 will be to load up the website with deals. Financial experts feel due to the overhead savings of not opening Walmart and other retailers may rake in record revenue and at the same time, give employees a deserved day off.

It is likely, due to Walmart and Target's announcements, other national retailers will follow.

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