Target is joining Walmart in closing its stores on Thanksgiving Day, ending a decadelong tradition of jump-starting Black Friday door buster sales.
The move, announced Monday, comes as stores are rethinking this year’s Black Friday shopping bonanza weekend — along with other key retail days during the holiday season — as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.
Stores always depended on big holiday crowds and work as much as a year in advance with manufacturers on securing exclusive items. Now, the virus has turned the holiday shopping model upside down. Stores have slashed orders and crowds are an anathema. With fears of a wave of virus cases in the fall, the biggest nightmare would be if retailers had to reclose during the most critical time of the year, analysts said.
“Historically, deal hunting and holiday shopping can mean crowded events, and this isn’t a year for crowds,” Minneapolis-based Target said in a corporate blog posted. It said its holiday deals would come earlier than ever — starting in October.
