TJ Maxx and Marshalls follow Costco and Target on…

TJ Maxx and Marshalls follow Costco and Target on upcoming closures

U.S. consumers have come to increasingly rely on the near ubiquity of convenience stores and big-box retailers.

Many of us depend on these stores being open practically all day, every day, even during some of the biggest holidays. After all, Black Friday beckons retail stores to open just hours after a Thanksgiving Day dinner in hopes of attracting huge crowds of shoppers in search of early holiday sales.

And it's largely true that before the covid pandemic most of our favorite stores were open all the time. Practically nothing — from inclement weather to bad news to holidays — could shut down a major operation like Walmart (WMT) or Target (TGT) .

Then the pandemic hit, and it turned everything we thought we knew about retail operations upside down.

Everything from grocery stores to shopping malls shut down in an effort to contain potential spread. And when they finally reopened to the public, different stores took different precautionary measures. Some monitored how many shoppers were inside at once, while others implemented foot-traffic rules dictating where one could enter and exit an aisle. And almost every one of them mandated wearing masks at one point or another.

Though these safety measures seem like a distant memory, one relic from the early 2020s remains firmly a part of our new American retail life.

A woman in a face mask shopping in the HomeGoods kitchen aisle.
Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images

Store closures announced for spring 2024

Many retailers have learned to adapt after a volatile start to this third decade, and in many ways this requires serving customers better and treating employees better to retain a workforce.

In some cases, the changes also reflect a change in shopping behavior, as more customers order online and leave more breathing room for brick-and-mortar operations. This also means more time for employees.

Thanks to this, big retailers have recently changed how they operate, especially during holiday hours, with Walmart recently saying it would close during Thanksgiving to give employees more time to spend with loved ones.

"I am delighted to share that once again, we'll be closing our doors for Thanksgiving this year," Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner told associates in a video posted to Twitter in November. "Thanksgiving is such a special day during a very busy season. We want you to spend that day at home with family and loved ones."

Other retailers have now followed suit, with Costco (COST) , Aldi, and Target all saying they would close their doors for 24 hours on Easter Sunday, March 31.

Now, the stores that operate under TJX Cos. (TJX) will also shut down during the holiday, including HomeGoods, TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

Though it closed on Thanksgiving, Walmart says it will remain open for shoppers on Easter.

Here's a list of stores that are closing for Easter 2024: