HOLIDAY SHOPPING season in flux as retailers adapt.

Pandemic forces retailers to be nimble in the chase for sales

In a year that so far has been anything but normal, retail industry analysts and experts say there will also be nothing normal about the 2020 Christmas shopping season.

The covid-19 pandemic has changed the way people shop, and retailers are already adjusting their plans for this year’s Christmas shopping season so customers can shop safely while still enjoying price cuts on holiday gifts and decor.

One big change shoppers are sure to notice this year is the much earlier promotion of deals on toys, electronics and other popular gift items. While it may seem to many consumers that stores start their Christmas preparations earlier every year, retailers are poised to begin their 2020 holiday promotions well before Halloween.

The accelerated “Christmas creep” is partly an attempt to reduce store crowding and maintain social distance guidelines, experts say.

Walmart Inc. and other retailers such as Target Corp., Kohl’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods will close on Thanksgiving this year, forgoing the early Black Friday events they typically hold that evening. The move has led to speculation that the day traditionally considered the start of the Christmas shopping season will be much more subdued than in years past.

“Retailers have a vested interest in spacing out the shopping activity this year,” said Carol Spieckerman, a retail consultant and president of Spieckerman Retail.

Downplaying the usual Black Friday doorbusters that draw large crowds of eager shoppers would be a wise move, she said.

“Black Friday is a perilous undertaking this year and the liability factor has increased exponentially,” Spieckerman said. “Retailers would be wise to shift Black Friday deals to digital or at least reduce the number of in-store deals and space out in-store displays.”

However, Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics LLC, said

(AP) Decked-out streets and bustling shoppers are seen in San Francisco in November. Retailers planning for Christmas shopping this year are taking into account the need for coronavirus precautions, experts say.