Thanksgiving is still four months away but retailers are preparing for a different holiday shopping season amid the coronavirus pandemic, USA Today reported. For years, Thanksgiving and Black Friday have marked the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season and the time of year when shoppers get focused on holiday spending. Enter 2020 and the pandemic. Some of the nation's largest retailers, who usually share holiday plans starting in October, have announced they are breaking with recent tradition and will close on Thanksgiving. Walmart kicked off the Thanksgiving closure announcements, with Target and Dick's Sporting Goods making similar declarations. Best Buy joined the list saying the holiday season is "going to look different." Kohl's announced that its stores would be closed on the holiday, too. Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, said he expects more stores will soon announce holiday closings. "Under present conditions, the idea of any retailer driving crowds of people into their store is a non-starter," Saunders said. "No retailer can run the risk of overcrowding and so all will be looking to balance the need to drive sales with the need to keep people safe."
