Skip to content

Target Is Making This Major Change to All Stores, Starting Dec. 5

This new policy comes amid the hectic holiday shopping season.

Target has faced its fair share of changes over the last year. In May, the retailer stopped selling trading cards at its stores due to a number of assaults over the product's dramatic increase in value. And in June, Target reopened its fitting rooms after a year-long ban amid the COVID pandemic. More recently, the retailer had to pull nine popular foods from shelves after a nationwide recall from the manufacturer Tastykake. And now, Target has announced another change that will hit stores on Dec. 5. Read on to find out what's coming to Target, starting Sunday.

RELATED: Target Is Permanently Barring Shoppers From Doing This.

Target is extending its store hours starting Dec. 5.

Shoppers rush through a busy Target on Black Friday.
Shutterstock

Target is gearing up for the holiday season. The retailer is extending its store hours from 7 a.m. to midnight, Target officials confirmed to USA Today. This change will start Dec. 5 and run through Dec. 23. Store hours could vary by location, however, so Target officials recommend checking a specific location's times through the online store locator.

RELATED: Walmart Won't Accept This From Customers, Starting Dec. 15.

The retailer is trying to help customers with their holiday shopping.

Customers purchase discounted door busters at Target on Black Friday.
Shutterstock

According to USA Today, Target is extending its hours to help customers with their holiday shopping in the days leading up to Christmas. The company is trying to make it "as easy as possible for guests to get all their holiday needs, on their terms," Mark Schindele, Target's chief stores officer, said in a statement to the news outlet.

He added, "Our extended holiday shopping hours—starting even earlier this year—is one example of just that, allowing guests more time to shop in store or use our fast same-day pickup options during the final weeks of the holiday season."

RELATED: For more retail news, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Target had cut hours during the COVID pandemic.

no shoppers in a target store
Shutterstock

Like many retailers, Target had scaled back its hours during the COVID pandemic. In March 2020, the retailer started closing stores an hour earlier at 9 p.m. before returning to the 10 p.m. time in July of the same year, per USA Today. It also reserved an 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. shopping time a few days a week for those at high risk for COVID, like senior citizens, to shop without crowds. But in Dec. 2020, Target reduced its special senior hours to one day a week and opened extended hours from 7 a.m. to midnight for that year's holidays shopping season. Now, most stores operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. ahead of the extended holidays hours.

The retailer won't open stores on Christmas Day this year.

Target store's Christmas holiday department shows a tree decorated with ornaments for sale and cardboard displays hang from the celing
Shutterstock

Target's extended shopping hours will be a good time to get your shopping in before the big day because the retailer will be closed on Christmas Day this year, a spokesperson confirmed to Good Housekeeping. Target stores will be open on Christmas Eve, with most stores opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 8 p.m. Then, on Dec. 26, stores will reopen at 7 a.m. and close with their regular hours, according to the magazine. The retailer was also not open on Thanksgiving Day this year. On Nov. 22, Target announced that it would no longer open on the November holiday going forward, CNBC reported.

RELATED: CVS Just Banned This From All of Its Stores.

Kali Coleman
Kali Coleman is a Senior Editor at Best Life. Her primary focus is covering news, where she often keeps readers informed on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and up-to-date on the latest retail closures. Read more
Filed Under