Somehow, the year has flown by. It’s the beginning of November, and the holiday shopping season has begun. Earlier than it used to, but it’s here. We know that ever-more retailers plan to open their doors on Thanksgiving Day. And most of you know, we’re not crazy about the idea.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve made that opinion plain and it has been suggested more than once that we believe retailers who open on Thanksgiving Day are “greedy; ” that we’re taking cheap shots. That’s not true at all, and I thought I’d take a few minutes to set the record straight. Maybe it’s a little early, but that seems to be on trend.

Most retail analysts I know have grown up in the retail industry. We’re proud to be a part of it. Not just RSR’s analysts: our competitors and partners as well have been in the industry for most, if not all of their adult lives. Several, like me, grew up as the children of independent retailers. Among us, despite different religious faiths, political persuasion and more differences than I can count, there’s a consensus that it’s just a bad idea to turn a day of gratitude for the gifts of family and friends into a day of gratitude for bargains or an extra day’s pay.

We know that retail is incredibly competitive. And that retailers believe they’re in a fight to the death to keep share of consumers’ mind and wallets. This is very clear from every study that we do. “Consumer price sensitivity ” is consistently a top business challenge reported by our retail respondents. Relentless pressure from Amazon.com and Walmart creates this pressure across virtually every retail segment.

Some retailers and trade associations say the customer demands these extra open days. Others ask, “Which came first? The chicken or the egg? ” Has our industry set expectations that the absolute best bargains happen over Black Friday weekend; that the early bird catches the bargain worm? Honestly, that’s neither here nor there. Sometimes you just have to stand up for what you think is right.

We’re not going to harangue about it on our blogs this season. At least at RSR we’re not. At the end of the day, retailers will do what they believe they have to do. Even though the data indicates that sales are just being moved around in somewhat unpredictable ways, retailers know their own numbers and react accordingly.

On our personal Facebook pages, however, you may find some of us cheering retailers who opt out. You might even find some of us encouraging consumers to stay home on that very day.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say, right up front, that while we may not agree with every single item on retail trade associations’ agendas, and even though we may wish Thanksgiving had remained a family-at-home day, we’re always rooting for the industry. We love the notion of “Retail Winners ” and would wish the entire industry would do well, much like a rising tide carrying all boats.

We are on your sides. Happy Holidays.