Dive Brief:
- Nordstrom stores are putting the holidays on hold until Black Friday, when it will open during normal business hours and finally unveil their holiday decorations.
- Stores will remain closed on Thanksgiving, as has been a longstanding tradition for the Seattle-based department-store chain.
- A survey from RichRelevance says that 65% of American shoppers “hate or dislike” when stores open on Thanksgiving Day.
Dive Insight:
Nordstrom is standing its ground on the issue of whether or not to open on Thanksgiving Day, right down to store decorations. While the chain will debut some Black Friday discounts online a day early, brick-and-mortar stores will remain closed until regular hours and open to unveil their holiday decorations for the first time on Friday, Nov. 27.
Nordstrom has so far only posted notices at mainline and Nordstrom Rack stores that say, “At Nordstrom, we won’t be decking our halls until Friday, November 27. Why? Well, we just like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time.” Lower-priced competitors such as Macy’s, Sears, Kohl’s, Target and Walmart, on the other hand, are already completely decked out in garland and tinsel—and all will be open at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.
A RichRelevance survey found that 67% of shoppers find it “annoying” when holiday decorations and products items appear early in stores, and 65% “hate or dislike” when stores open on Thanksgiving. Regardless, more consumers this season will opt to stay home while they shop: online sales during the holidays are expected to jump 11% this year to $95 billion, says Forrester Research, or 14% of overall holiday retail sales.
