Target Follows Walmart in Closing Stores Thanksgiving; Deals Start in October
High-profile shopping events, like most of the business world, are being reshaped by COVID-19 in 2020. Target and Walmart -- among the highest profile retailers associated with Black Friday doorbusters -- will be closed on Thanksgiving this year, leaving back in the pre-social distancing age images of crowds storming store entrances to score the best deals.
Target followed Walmart’s July 21 announcement Monday, saying its stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day: “Let’s face it: Historically, deal hunting and holiday shopping can mean crowded events, and this isn’t a year for crowds,” blogged the retailer.
But before and after Thanksgiving, Target wants customers to know its stores will be “simple, safe and stress-free.” The holiday sale creep will begin even earlier this year, into October, with Target unabashedly saying its biggest holiday deals will be “available earlier than ever, so you can shop safely and conveniently without worrying about missing out on deals that usually come later in the season.”
Investments it has made in its business and team are enabling the retailer to “meet guests’ changing needs” during the pandemic, said CEO Brian Cornell. It's working on ways to make sure holiday season shopping is “as convenient -- and contactless -- as possible, making Target America’s safest place to shop this holiday season." The retailer is making 20,000 more products -- including groceries -- available via its pickup and delivery services. It pushed its contactless same-day services like Drive Up, Order Pickup and Same-day Delivery with Shipt, which grew 278% in Q1. Drive Up will be available at 1,500 Target stores by fall, it said.
That Target’s holiday season deals will start in October is no surprise because rumors have swirled for weeks that Amazon’s Prime Day event, swept from its usual July slot, will now be in October, putting it on the runway to the holiday sales season. Amazon hasn’t confirmed an October date. Prime Day has been considered the start of the important back-to-school season, which also has a different, and still-evolving, look this year as parents, teachers and school districts try to sort out whether kids will be learning from home or studying in the classroom.
In a Monday email, Amazon addressed the back-to-school season, citing National Retail Federation data saying 55% of K-12 shoppers will buy their supplies online this year, up from 49% last year. It cited its Ready for School store selling tablets, printers, snacks and T-shirts. It has an Educator Shop where teachers “or parents educating from home” can find what they need to set up a learning space. Amazon's Off to College store can equip students for video calls or dorm rooms.
An Amazon spokesperson emailed Monday that 5-year-old Prime Day has become a "special celebration and time for Prime members to shop incredible deals." This year, Amazon will hold Prime Day "later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners." Prime Members in India will experience the event Aug. 6-7. Members around the world "will experience Prime Day later this year."
Walmart sneaked its announcement of Thanksgiving Day store closures into a news release last week trumpeting $428 million in bonuses ($300 for full-time hourly workers; $150 for part-time workers) given in a “trying year.” Walmart and Sam’s Club stores will operate normal hours Nov. 25; Walmart didn’t announce store hours for Black Friday, to be revealed at a later date.