Pandemic pushes start of holiday shopping earlier than ever

NEW YORK: Add last-minute holiday shopping to the list of time-honoured traditions being upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Retailers are kicking off the holiday season earlier than ever this year in hopes of avoiding big in-store crowds and shipping bottlenecks in November and December.

Stores like Best Buy, Macy's, and Target typically offer their biggest Black Friday deals over Thanksgiving weekend, but now they're starting them in October so people don't crowd their stores later, creating a potentially dangerous situation during a pandemic.

And with more people expected to shop online, retailers are tr ying to avoid a rush of orders closer to Christmas, which could lead to late packages and more expensive shipping. Many had a hard time keeping up with the surge in buying when shoppers were locked down in their homes during the early days of the pandemic.