Target Moves Black Friday Up To Early October

Promoting holiday sales well before Thanksgiving is now just business as usual. Such is the case for TargetTGT
, which announced it is kicking off its holiday season push with its biggest ever “Deal Days” promotion running from October 6 to October 8.

The retailer said it will offer “hundreds of thousands of incredible deals” and that it would extend its holiday price match guarantee from the first day of the Deal Days promotion through December 24.

“The holidays are a treasured time when our guests come together with family and friends to celebrate the joy of the season, and we’re here to make that as easy as possible for them to enjoy,” Christina Hennington, executive vice president and chief growth officer, Target, said in a statement. “That’s why we’re rolling out deals earlier than ever and ensuring our team is ready to help our guests shop when and how they want. Throughout the season, guests will discover new and differentiated items for gifting and gathering, including only-at-Target owned brands and must-have national brands, and they can expect great deals and everyday low prices at every turn for an unmatched holiday shopping experience.”

In a recent online discussion, retail experts like RetailWire BrainTrust member Jeff Sward, founding partner of Merchandising Metrics, saw the extension of the holiday shopping experience as a sign of the times.

“Black Friday has been more of a value driven marketing handle than a specific day for a while now,” wrote Mr. Sward. “When we find out about an October Prime Day that should make it all official.”

“There is no more holiday shopping kickoff,” wrote Jenn McMillen, chief accelerant at Incendio. “Thanks to AmazonAMZN
and other retailers, it’s a year-round activity now.”

Even some who were notably unhappy about the development agreed.

“I hate how far we are stretching our definition of ‘the season,’ but have no reason to doubt Target’s strategy,” wrote Dave Bruno, director of retail market insights at Aptos. “They have been right so often and so consistently, I would guess this move will certainly have an impact on other retailers who have also witnessed their sound strategies over the past several years. I would not be surprised to see numerous copycat promotions in early October…”

Target is supporting its holiday efforts with plans to add up to 100,000 seasonal workers to its payroll. It hired around 130,000 seasonal employees in 2021, CNBC reports.

The retailer, which fulfills more than 95 percent of its online orders, will put its new associates to work in stocking and organizing stores, packing and shipping online purchases, assisting customers in stores and handling pickup duties in-store and curbside (Drive Up).

The chain is counting on starting wages between $15 and $24, flexible scheduling, benefits and the prospects of work beyond the holidays to attract the best candidates. It expects that about 30 percent of those hired for the Christmas season will remain as employees beyond the holidays.

Target, it could be argued, is getting a late start on Christmas compared to WalmartWMT
. The retailing giant announced that it was kicking off its holiday promotions on October 1 and adding three “no concerns” return options including a January 31 cutoff for returns as well as curbside returns and return pick up of returns at the homes of its Walmart+ members.

Walmart plans to add 40,000 new workers for the season.

Despite the apparent rush to move the Christmas shopping season even further back, some on RetailWire’s BrainTrust were ambivalent about if it would stick.

“Moving holiday deals up earlier and earlier — we’re all looking for a little extra advantage,” wrote Gary Sankary, retail strategy at Esri. “If consumers respond, it will happen. If they don’t, we might see those early deals move back closer to Christmas. And if the season shapes up to be disappointing this year, as I suspect it might, we’ll see retailers hit the promos in December and this whole conversation will be moot.”

And some were all but certain that the holidays will not come early this year.

“I just don’t see super early holiday shopping happening this year,” wrote Melissa Minkow, director of retail strategy at CI&T. “Given how ready consumers are to return to stores full force, I think the actual day of Black Friday, and the period more closely surrounding it, will be more relevant than early October.”

“Black Friday will always be that day,” wrote Ken Morris, managing partner at Cambridge Retail Advisors. “It’s a day when most of us are with family and friends and this communal shopping is ingrained in our DNA. Attempting to shift buyers to shop early will require deep discounts and the inherent risks and margin hit if a retailer could have sold at full price. Risky business!”