Stores across America are starting Black Friday a day earlier this year in an effort to extend sales. Retail giants such as Kmart and Radio Shack will be opening on the morning of Thanksgiving at 6am and 8am respectively, with Walmart, Macy’s and Best Buy opening on Thanksgiving day too.
Those who won’t be opening on turkey day include Cotsco, which said that its workers deserve to have the day off, along with Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.
However, this corporate drive to make the most of holiday shopping has also been a subject of increasing criticism.
There are expected to be protestors expressing their concerns that workers should not have to spend their Thanksgiving at work as opposed to being at home with their family.
Consumers flock to retailers on Black Friday to make the most of discounts and sales.
There are many petitions online calling for retailers to adopt a different approach.
An article published by the Los Angeles Times, written by Susan Rohwer, said the following:
“When shopping for a bargain is more important than working families being able to spend a holiday together, it’s time for Americans to take a hard look at our priorities.”
“The “holiday creep” — when the holidays are pushed on consumers earlier and earlier each year — is reaching new levels of ridiculousness.”
The advent of online shopping
The majority of consumers expect to do their American shopping online, the advent of buying products online has changed the American consumer landscape. As a result retailers across the country are upping their game when it comes to competing in one of the most important retail events of the year to try and ramp up sales.
In fact, 60 percent of Americans say they will do their holiday shopping online and many online retailers have a market edge in that they have already launched their holiday discounts almost a week ago. Cyber Monday has essentially transformed into a week long event now.
How much will Americans spend?
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend $616.9 billion in this shopping spree period, up 4.1% from last year.
Online spending is expected to grow from 8% to 15%.
Last year the surge in online spending was too much for UPS and Amazon to handle, and as a result many consumers did not receive their products before Christmas.
Is opening a day earlier going to help boost revenue for retailers?
Will opening on Thanksgiving really boost sales? Probably, although it’s still too early to tell. Retailers are betting that it will though, suggesting that they have confidence that by opening earlier they will generate more sales.
