And the first Christmas shoe of the 2015 holiday season has dropped… Staples has announced will not be open on Thanksgiving Day.
I mean, really, a retail store not open on Thanksgiving Day? That’s sacrilege!
I’m kidding, of course. This whole phenomenon of retailers opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day so shoppers could beat the Black Friday crowds is all relatively new. But it appears Staples’ announcement may confirm something we already kinda figured out: Shopping in stores on Thanksgiving Day is for the birds.
“We want our customers and associates to enjoy Thanksgiving their own way,” said Demos Parneros, president, North American stores and online, Staples, in a press release. “On Thanksgiving Day, customers can shop from home on Staples.com and then continue their shopping in stores starting at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.”
Back at the turn of the 21st century, Kmart began opening its doors on Thanksgiving Day, and no one batted an eyelash. But when several other retailers finally followed suit in 2013, consumers complained that retailers were greedy, and not letting their exploited employees have the most sacred day on the Christian calendar off to be with their families (By the way, isn’t that what Christmas is for, and isn’t Easter an even more sacred Christian holiday?).
But the additional store openings have been justified by retailers, who claim they were losing store sales to Amazon.com and other online retailers, since the Interwebs aren’t closed on Thanksgiving Day. However, these same retailers also have ecommerce sites, and have taken advantage of turkey-stuffed mobile shoppers who’ve taken advantage of online deals before slipping into sweatpants and enjoying some pumpkin pie.
Macy’s Inc. CEO Terry Lundgren told The Street last November that his stores have opened earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving Day since its initial 2012 opening because it’s “what his customers say they want.”
But as more stores report that Thanksgiving Day sales are cannibalizing their Black Friday sales, and as more stores get ecommerce, mobile commerce and omnichannel savvy, we’ll probably see brick-and-mortar retailers give way to their online channels… and the protesters.
Here’s a look at this weeks’ news, commentary and events that shaped the direct-to-customer world… and more.
Marketing
Sally Hansen launched new augmented reality 3D app…Retailers joined in on the #FacebookDown fun on Twitter after Facebook went down for second time in less than a week…Twitter announced it is making its “Buy Now” button more widely available to all merchants that use the Shopify, Bigcommerce or Demandware platforms… Amazon has added 11 new products to its Dash Button program…The Finish Line sharpened its focus with the launch of the new brand position – EPIC FINISH …
Ecommerce
TAG Hauer and JD.com joined forces in an ecommerce partnership …True Religion unified the digital and store experience with its new ecommerce site… Budget supermarket chain Aldi launched ecommerce site in the United Kingdom… Tourneau has launched its new ecommerce site on the Demandware platform, with help from Lyons Consulting Group…
Operations
Walmart continued expansion of grocery pick-up service, and opened a 1.2 million square foot ecommerce fulfillment center near Atlanta… Amazon has taken a page from the Uber playbook with its new Amazon Flex program, using contractors instead of employees to fulfill one- and two-hour deliveries for Prime Now, starting in hometown Seattle. … FedEx reportedly plans to built a 213,508-square-foot sorting facility in Fort Myers, FL. The company is also opening a 180,000-square-foot DC in Bel Aire, KS, near Wichita. … Home improvement company Menards plans to build a $29 million dollar distribution center in Sullivan, MO, which is expected to open in late 2016. … Cloud-based multichannel commerce platform Shopify has launched Shopify Shipping, allowing merchants to buy and print discounted shipping labels within the Shopify platform.
… And more
SLI Systems has named Chris Brennan as its new CEO… Grainger completes acquisition of Cromwell …Colombia Sportswear announced appointment of Richelle T. Luther as its new senior vice-president and human resources officer… Ralph Lauren steps down as CEO, and named Old Navy president Stefan Larsson as new CEO, while Gap Inc. announced Larsson is leaving the company…. GameStop announced it will hire 28,000 seasonal employees for holiday 2015…Hudson’s Bay Company cut 265 corporate office jobs in an effort to trim costs… Costco Wholesale announced plans to enter France, with expectations to open its first warehouse in August of 2016…. Liberty Interactive completed acquisition of zulily …. Neiman Marcus cuts 500 employees in the midst of reshuffling …