Black Friday Canceled For Atlanta-Based Home Depot
BUCKHEAD, GA — No large crowds and cart racing this Black Friday. Home Depot said the traditional annual store event has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It's one of several national chains to change the way it kicks off the holiday shopping season; some retailers, like Walmart, will be closed on Thanksgiving this year, others have canceled the mob scene of shopping a day later.
The day after Thanksgiving sale has been “reinvented” Home Depot said on its website. In order to safely accommodate its customers and employees, the retailer said it has decided to offer Black Friday discounts for two months, beginning in early November through December.
Deals will be available both in store and online, but mobile app users will receive exclusive early access to some discounts in November.
Home Depot is one of the retailers that has seen sales grow and shift online during the pandemic, reported CNBC. Digital sales at Home Depot doubled in the second quarter, ended Aug. 2. Overall, sales have been up.
Walmart previously announced it plans to keep stores closed on Thanksgiving Day. John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart, said in a statement that closing stores is a way to recognize employees for the work they've done during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Home Depot and Walmart are joining other retailers who agree that the traditional Black Friday just won't work in 2020. The Washington Post lists five ways holiday shopping will be different this year. Outdoor markets and parking lot popups is one way.
For the first time in three decades, Target, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kohl’s will be closed on Thanksgiving amid coronavirus concerns and consumers increasing their online shopping.
Target holiday sales will begin in October, the Post reported, while Amazon postponed its Prime Day sale, which in past year has been held in July, and may instead be set for October as a holiday shopping launch.
This article originally appeared on the Buckhead Patch
