Dive Brief:

• On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, the 88th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will commence at 9 a.m., moving from 77th Street to Columbus Circle down Central Park West, then taking Central Park South to 6th Avenue, and down to 34th Street to the retailer’s flagship Herald Square location. 

• The retailer will open its doors to shoppers at 6 p.m. the same day.

• The retailer says that employees will be given “incentive pay” to help start “Black Friday” shopping a bit early.

Dive Insight:

Macy’s is leaving little time for Thanksgiving dinner, holding its famous parade in the morning and opening its doors to shoppers by evening. Thanksgiving-day shopping last year was met with some controversy about retail sullying the holiday, and it’s far from clear how much spending is actually done on that day. But Macy’s is first out of the gate, and other retailers are likely to follow suit.