By Kathy Williams, Features Assignment Editor
COVID-19 has challenged in-store retailers across the nation by making them enforce social distancing, mask wearing and other sanitization procedures. However, retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy and Target are still planning on implementing sales for the Black Friday season.
Black Friday, the term given to the Friday after Thanksgiving, has a history of attracting large crowds of people because of the extreme sales. According to the National Retail Federation, about 189.6 million people nationwide went shopping over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend last year, a 14% increase from 2018.
Although stores have been promoting people to shop Cyber Monday online sales, retailers are strategizing how to meet the needs of Black Friday crowds while meeting COVID-19 guidelines.
Nov. 27, the day for the traditional Black Friday this year, is not the only day for sales for many stores. Walmart, notorious for attracting mass crowds for its savings events, devised a new month-long plan for its Black Friday deals. The company has split this plan into three events throughout the month of November and are calling it the “Black Friday Deals for Days.” Each deal will be offered on Walmart.com and in-store. The first sales event starts on Nov. 4 and goes through Nov. 7.
Target, another giant leading retailer for Black Friday deals, has also released a plan for how they are tackling the sales during the pandemic. Last year, Target opened its doors at 5pm on Thanksgiving day, but this year the corporation has decided to stay closed on Thanksgiving day.
Target is offering multiple deals starting on Oct. 29 and will continue the Black Friday prices throughout November. The company has also implemented a sales style similar to Walmart where they will be conducting various rounds of deals on electronics, toys, home goods and other items. Target is also predicting that their curbside pickup sales will increase, so many stores have taken the initiative to hire holiday employees.
Like Target, Best Buy has decided to remain closed on Thanksgiving day and will open at 5am on Friday, similarly to Walmart. Best Buy has also released a schedule of sales events that start on Nov. 1. The company has also promoted its contactless curbside pickup as an option for people looking to shop their deals on various electronics. Same-day and next-day delivery is also an option for people looking to purchase the Black Friday deals.
Some students have already planned on not shopping Black Friday deals the traditional in-store way. Jules Misenheimer, a senior sports studies major, is not planning on shopping on Black Friday despite going out the previous years because of how businesses are handling the pandemic. “Corporate America is corrupt, and businesses have not prioritized the safety, health and well-being of their employees to a satisfactory degree,” said Misenheimer.
Caleigh Swanson, a senior sports studies major, said even though she has not gone shopping the past few years on Thursday and Black Friday, she may shop through the Thanksgiving weekend.
“I have not in the past few years because I hate how it has been pushed to Thursday,” said Swanson. “I would consider going Friday, however COVID is an eye-opener. I might end up not [going] and just online shopping instead so it’s safer.”
COVID-19 has changed the way retailers conduct in-store transactions. Online shopping, delivery services and curbside pick-up have been utilized in stores throughout the pandemic and are predicted to shape how Black Friday will be done this year.
williakp18@bonaventure.edu
