In an unprecented move, REI has decided not to open its doors to customers on Black Friday this year.

Instead, the outdoor gear and sporting goods retailer will encourage consumers and its employees to spend the day after Thanksgiving outside, or at least doing something else besides shopping.

In addition to canceling Black Friday this year, the store will not offer any promotions, hourly sales or doorbusters. Plus, REI won't process any online orders until Saturday. Meanwhile, only a handful of its employees will be on call, while the rest get a paid day off.

While speaking to HuffPost Live on Wednesday, CEO Jerry Stritzke admitted that he thought long and hard about before deciding to close REI's 143 stores on Black Friday, which has historically been a "top 10 business day" for the company.

"[We] certainly had to think hard about it. This is new news. I haven't spoken to very many of my contemporaries about the issue, but I'm excited by the idea," Stritzke said. "I think it's intriguing that we can create this conversation [about] something so central to our brand and kind of who we are" considering that "Black Friday historically is the most important retail day of the year. It's like a national holiday."

He also admitted that the decision to close up shop for the day is "a bit of a startling idea from a retail perspective."

"Any retailer that hears this will be startled by the idea," said Stritzke, reports USA Today. "As a co-op ... we define success a little differently. It's much broader than just money. How effectively do we get people outside?"

Instead of enticing customers to its store, the co-op business launched a social media campaign on Tuesday, encouraging people to forgo shopping to share how they are spending Black Friday using the hashtag #OptOutside.

The decision to close on Black Friday is a bold move in today's society since the retial industry that has practically made the day a mandatory part of business, while customers and many company's depend on it.