Banks aren't closed on Black Friday — and it reveals a key weakness for the holiday

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November 10, 2017 3:24 PM

Banks are closed on Thanksgiving, but open on Black Friday.

Banks are closed on Thanksgiving, but open on Black Friday.
While Thanksgiving is a national holiday, Black Friday is an unofficial celebration of deals.
The unofficial nature of Black Friday has allowed it to lose some of its power as a single day.

As retailers extend Black Friday earlier and earlier, banks are refusing to fall into the same trap.

All major banks including Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, but open on Black Friday this year.

While many people treat Black Friday like a holiday, celebrated by going on a budget shopping bonanza, it is not in fact a public holiday in the US. People might take a day off, but at banks, it's business as usual.

Black Friday's status as an unofficial holiday is part of the reason why retailers' sales have started inching earlier and earlier. Retailers including Walmart, Target, and Macy's are all kicking off Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving — an actual national holiday.

As a result, Black Friday is losing its power. Soon, it may not even be an unofficial holiday.

"I think the traditionalists will have a hard time stomaching that," Josh Elman, a consumer and retail analyst with Nasdaq Advisory Services, told Business Insider. "But I think at the end of the day ... the whole idea and concept of Black Friday deals in store will diminish over time."

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