WASHINGTON — With Thanksgiving and the formal launch of the holiday shopping season, Americans will again be consumed with the annual trifecta of turkey, travel and transactions — lots of them.
While most big U.S. retailers are closed on Thanksgiving Day, many will open early the following day — Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday gift-buying season and the biggest shopping day of the year.
Here’s what is open and closed this Thanksgiving, and a travel forecast from the experts at AAA auto club.
Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed.
U.S. stock markets and banks are closed Thursday; however, markets reopen on Friday for a shortened trading day, wrapping up at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Standard FedEx and UPS pickup and delivery services will not be available on Thanksgiving, although some critical services will be offered at certain locations.
Walmart will be closed on Thanksgiving but most stores will open at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday.
Target will be closed on Thanksgiving, but most stores will open at 6 a.m. local time on Black Friday.
Macy’s will be closed on Thanksgiving, but most stores will have extended hours from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Black Friday.
Kohl’s will be closed on Thanksgiving, but many stores will be open as early as 5 a.m. on Black Friday. Check your local location for hours.
Costco will be closed on Thanksgiving, but will reopen on Black Friday. Check your local store’s website for hours.
CVS will close early on Thanksgiving. You can call your local store or check store and pharmacy hours on the CVS Pharmacy website.
Walgreens will close most of its stores on Thanksgiving. Check your local store for more information.
Most national grocery store chains are open on Thanksgiving for those last-minute turkey day needs, although many close early. Check your local store for details.
With most schools closed Thursday and Friday, the long Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
AAA projects a record 79.9 million travelers would head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. For the first time, AAA’s forecast included the Tuesday before and the Monday after Thanksgiving Day to better capture the flow of holiday travelers.
This year’s projection of nearly 80 million travelers is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to last year and 2 million more than in 2019.