Retailers Close for Thanksgiving
Given all that 2020 has been bringing us, there’s absolutely no reason to even slightly believe that the holiday season will bear any resemblance to “normal.” Normal is gone.
One thing that had been becoming norm was retailers opening earlier and earlier and earlier for Black Friday in order to capitalize on the shopping fever and get ahead of the competition. “Earlier and earlier” even started meaning the day before, as in Thanksgiving. Which was opening up all sorts of issues about having employees work on a holiday and forcing them to be away from their families. The debate was raging, pre-Covid19.
I think that debate is gone this year. In fact a number of retailers have already announced that they will be closed this Thanksgiving including Walmart, Target, Dick’s, who were often the lead retailers in announcing holiday hours.
And that’s just the big box retailers. We’ve seen the impact that the pandemic has had on small businesses. It’s heartbreaking. So while this post focuses on big business, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the pain felt by businesses of all sizes. I truly hope they can find a way to start to recover this holiday season, aside from Thanksgiving.
Check out this year’s list of big brand Thanksgiving closings here.
You’ll note REI on the list. I note that particular retailer because of their now infamous launch of #OptOutside where the retailer not only closed on Thanksgiving but also on Black Friday to give employees the day to spend outdoors (linked directly to the brand’s strategy). That campaign helped to heat up the debate about holiday store hours and employee relations.
This year we won’t be having THAT debate. And we are already seeing indications that Black Friday will be virtually online and taking away attention from Cyber Monday. Sales impact? I have no idea but we are in the middle of a pandemic and its economic fallout so anything goes. Let’s hope for sustained employment for all retail workers.
All in all, this holiday season will be very different this year. The conclusion to a very different year. And “different” doesn’t even begin to describe it. As we all know.
What’s your brand doing for the holiday season? What’s your experience? JIM