"They've fronted so much frustration and anger and they've put up with it, and they've done a great job."
Wilson said it was an easy decision to give his team another paid day off "just to relax", especially for those who would have ended Christmas celebrations early in order to get a good night's sleep before an early start.
"A lot of our staff, butchers, bakers and night fill teams have to come in 3 and 4 in the morning to start up ovens, to start cutting meat, getting ready for the day.
"You have to go to bed really early. It kind of takes away from having a true day off, so I thought, why not just close, take all the food that would be perished by not opening that day, and get it out to the local food banks."
Wilson said it has been a "truly unprecedented" year for supermarket staff - a year he hopes never to repeat.
"There has been a lot of tears out the back, there's been a lot of anger and frustration towards [staff] which has manifested in them feeling really shaken.
"I'm just trying to thank them for everything they've done."
Wilson said the decision to close on Boxing Day was not about receiving recognition, and he isn't worried about the commercial sacrifice.
"I'm not looking for pats on the back, I actually don't want any publicity for this at all, it wasn't about that.
"I genuinely want them to feel appreciated for what they do in an industry which has been knocked around quite badly over the last few years, and just show them there is someone who cares at the top of the tree."
Despite not wanting any recognition, Wilson has been praised on social media.
Wilson said staff were "stoked" when they learned of the Boxing Day closure.
It was a decision Wilson made as an owner of the store - independent of Foodstuffs.
Foodstuffs runs an "owner-operator" model, so each store is led by a local grocer.
New World Pukekohe will reopen on December 27 at 7am.
