The holiday shopping season starts earlier every year
For the past few years, retail industry professionals have seen the holiday shopping season start earlier and earlier, be it by hours or days. Some stores are opening at midnight on the day after Thanksgiving to capitalize on Black Friday, but for some of the largest retailers, even that is too late in the season. USA Today recently reported that the top eight retailers will let customers in on Thanksgiving Day, rather than wait until the holiday is finished. Walmart's specials will go on sale at 6:00 pm on November 28, and Target's doors will open for customers at 8:00 p.m. and only close come 11 p.m. the following day. Meanwhile, Best Buy, Sears, Macy's and other merchants will be running on similar hours.
The trend is understandable, because for many consumers, the holiday shopping season already began. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 53.8 percent of U.S. customers have started buying gifts, and many promotions began in early October. The NRF noted that some patrons have smaller budgets this year, and getting out early may let them find better deals to purchase just as much as last year while still saving on how much they spend.
