The Challenge (and Opportunity) for Retailers as Black Friday Becomes Less of a Draw

In recent years, you’ve no doubt noticed a change to the rhythm of the holiday shopping season. Big-box retailers are starting their major holiday sales not on Black Friday, but on Thanksgiving Day — and are often offering other seasonal deals days or even weeks earlier. The fastest growing online shopping day of the season is Thanksgiving Day, meaning many digital shoppers aren't waiting for the following Monday, so-called Cyber Monday, to kick off their spending. Consulting firm Deloitte released survey data last week that helps put in perspective how quickly this change is taking place.