A fantastic move that others should follow.
Giving retail workers a well-deserved break after an incredibly testing year, a number of major high street stores have announced that they’ll be remaining closed this Boxing Day. A day which is usually reserved for absolutely mental sales, traffic jams at retail parks and stress all round, retailers are ‘boycotting’ the huge shopping event to allow their workers to have a proper Christmas, instead of just a fleeting 24 hours on December 25th.
Pets At Home, Wickes, M&S, Aldi, Home Bargains and B&Q are currently leading the pack with the considerate trend, and the move has been well-received by customers who’ve appreciated shop workers efforts during the pandemic. In fact, some customers are even calling for it – demanding their employees get a bit of a break this Christmas.
@Tesco @AsdaServiceTeam @sainsburys @Morrisons @AldiUK @LidlGB are you closing all your stores on Boxing day to give your employees a very well deserved day off after the year they have had? The nation wouldn't mind you staying closed as all your staff worked so hard
— yabba dabba do (@supernautynew) November 29, 2020
https://twitter.com/Princess3lmo/status/1332427204802846723
Confirming the news in a post to their Twitter followers, M&S said: “2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, and this Christmas time with loved ones will be more precious than ever.
“That’s why we have decided to close our stores and operations this Boxing Day. So our colleagues can spend more time with their families and friends.”
Popular supermarket Aldi was also praised last Christmas for their decision to keep stores closed nationwide, and will do the same this year to allow staff the extra day off over the busy festive period.
Peter Pritchard, Pets At Home CEO, said: “As a small but tangible sign of our appreciation, I have decided to close all of our stores on Boxing Day this year to give our colleagues much-needed time with their families and loved ones,”
Shoppers will, of course, still be able to access the sales online at the stores that have an e-commerce offering – the difference being, you can enjoy them in your PJs and give retail staff a quiet day off instead.