Dive Brief:
- Target on Monday said that it is starting its holiday savings three weeks earlier than last year, according to a company announcement.
- Weeklong Black Friday Deals run now through Nov. 26 and are available in-store, online or through the retailer’s app. A new batch of promotions debut each Sunday through Thanksgiving weekend.
- Deal of the Day specials run through Dec. 24, and feature “hundreds more items than last year, all at Black Friday pricing” and can be accessed online and through the Target app, per the company.
Dive Insight:
Target is ratcheting up holiday deals in a play for market share during a season where consumers are dealing with the impact of inflation.
The big box retailer already completed its first holiday event — dubbed Target Deal Days — the first week of October. The company also launched a holiday price-matching guarantee on Oct. 6 which goes through Dec. 24.
Target is among a number of large retailers that have commenced seasonal marketing and deal strategies. Amazon announced a two-day holiday sale to Prime members from Oct. 11 to Oct. 12, Kohl’s launched savings starting Oct. 6, and Walmart is introducing its “Rollbacks and More” savings event from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13.
Yet, early October deals means a potential pullback on spending growth during the holidays, according to an Adobe report.
"The shape of the holiday season will look different this year, with early discounting in October pulling up spend that would have occurred around cyber week," Patrick Brown, vice president of growth marketing and insights at Adobe, said in a statement.
Forty-six percent of consumers said they plan to start holiday shopping before Halloween, though that’s down 7 percentage points from last year, according to research from AlixPartners.
In another report, Bankrate found that 40% of respondents said that inflation will impact their shopping decisions.
“Holiday shopping will look different this year with inflation around 40-year highs,” Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst for Bankrate.com, said in a statement. “Consumers are still spending, but they’re being especially thoughtful about where each dollar goes.”
