Target stores will stay closed on Thanksgiving moving forward, marking a shift from pre-pandemic Black Friday sales starting early and making the temporary coronaviruses policy adopted by many retailers a permanent practice.
Thanksgiving Day shoppers push loaded up carts during the Black Friday sales at a Target store.
The images are from the same source.
Target will be closed for the holiday, but its call centers and distribution sites will be staffed lightly.
In June, officials at Walmart said that they would be closing for Thanksgiving as a thank you to employees.
Best Buy will stay closed for in-person shopping for a second year and shift focus to online and curbside pick up, which helped the electronics company keep up sales last year.
The company said it received a positive response from last year's Black Friday sale, so it will not be offering in-person sales this year.
Macy's will close for in-person shopping and some stores will stay open for curbside pick up.
Simon, one of the largest mall operators, announced last month that it would close all of its US properties on Thanksgiving.
Most big-box retailers in the U.S. closed for in-person shopping on Thanksgiving last year due to a surge in cases of coronaviruses. Customer turnout was lower than anticipated, as many remained open for Black Friday sales. Stores tried to spread out shoppers and prevent crowds by introducing services like curbside pickup, offering Black Friday deals for longer and expanding online shopping. The measures paid off for many retailers, with online sales growing by 47.2% over the same period in 2019. Retailers began opening on Thanksgiving ahead of Black Friday in order to compete with e-commerce companies.
Crowds are down as online sales increase.
E-Commerce sales increased by nearly 50% during the holiday season.
Walmart Stores will close on Thanksgiving this year.
