Friendly reminder: Target is permanently closed on Thanksgiving Day

This news will either give you one more reason to love Target, or will make you say “Bah, humbug.” Either way, Target will be closed on Thanksgiving Day this year—and every year from now on.

In 2020, Target (and many other stores) remained open on the holiday in order to extend the holiday shopping season, which was necessary to limit crowd sizes in-store due to the pandemic.

This year, however, Target will open at 7 a.m. on Black Friday. Target is also offering plenty of early deals and sales so you don’t have to fight the post-Thanksgiving crowds. In fact, you can even shop some Black Friday Week deals online now.

Target CEO Brian Cornell says from now on Target will be closed on Thanksgiving Day for good.

“What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard…Thanksgiving store hours are one thing we won’t ‘get back to’ when the pandemic finally subsides.”

— Jo Ling Kent (@jolingkent) November 22, 2021

Apparently, a majority of customers enjoyed having more time to take advantage of holiday deals—so Target repeated the strategy last year. And because sales were available to consumers for a longer period of time, holiday sales rose 8.2% nationwide in 2020. The National Retail Federation, the largest retail trade group in the U.S., believes that number will be even higher moving forward.

Related: To the mom at Target whose kids were screaming—I’ve been there, too

So basically, Target sales will be just fine even though they’re choosing to close on Thanksgiving Day.

“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, per AP.

Most major retailers, including Target, began opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day about a decade ago in order to kick off Black Friday sales a little early.

Related: My ‘unnecessary’ Target trips are ABSOLUTELY necessary—and I’m not sorry for it

In the years since, these stores have faced a lot of criticism for forcing thousands of people to work instead of letting them enjoy the holiday at home with their families.

Whether you love shopping on Thanksgiving or you’re glad to hear Target is observing the holiday, we can all be thankful for longer holiday sales!

A version of this article was published November 22, 2021. It has been updated.