ST. PAUL
Black Friday is coming early again this year.
Target Corp. said Thursday it won't wait until the traditional day-after-Thanksgiving shopping kickoff to debut its holiday specials. Instead, Target will do that at a "Four-Day Sale" starting on Nov. 21 -- four days before the turkey is served.
The Minneapolis-based retailer calls it a way for holiday shoppers to beat the crowds. Analysts see it as a way to stretch the Christmas shopping season -- a trend welcomed both by retailers and by some, but not all, shoppers.
"One thing we're seeing now is that consumers are really making holiday shopping more fluid throughout the year, rather than having Black Friday be the signal," said Nissa Hanna, an editor at Iconoculture, a Minneapolis consumer insights firm.
ADVERTISEMENT
Another factor: Dec. 25 falls on Saturday this year, which will squeeze the army of last-minute weekend Christmas shoppers.
Wal-Mart is sometimes credited for launching the early Black Friday concept, when in 2007 it started advertising holiday bargains before Thanksgiving. Other major retailers followed suit, while continuing to offer traditional Black Friday deals, too.
Not everyone welcomes extreme early-bird specials. Shoppers have long complained about Christmas music and holiday displays during the fall.
"A lot of people want the holiday decorations and holiday music to get them in mood for shopping," Hanna said. "Some consumers want their holidays one at a time, they don't want them to blur together. So it's going to be a tough balance for those retailers who want to serve both."
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
