Sure, it's not even Halloween yet. But many stores are getting into the holiday spirit with early sales and announcing their Thanksgiving plans.
The latest was clothing retailer Kohl's, which announced Tuesday it will close its stores again on Thanksgiving Day this year. It said holiday hours, including for Black Friday, will be released later.
While many major chains haven't yet announced whether they'll keep their doors shut on Nov. 24, more are likely to do so. Last year's list of closures included most major grocery chains, plus numerous retailers that hope to draw customers instead to Thanksgiving online shopping.
Experts believe high inflation could push families to get an earlier start on shopping this year with hopes of avoiding even higher prices later.
Walmart and Target, which used to have at least limited hours on Thanksgiving, began closing their doors during the holiday in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic began. The two companies and many others continued the closures in recent years. Last November, Target announced it would permanently no longer open its stores on Thanksgiving Day.
Some businesses do still open up early in the morning for Black Friday. Though outdoor retailer REI has shut its doors for the last seven Black Friday holidays and announced this year that the policy is permanent. REI said in a statement that the hope is to encourage customers and its more than 16,000 employees to spend more time outdoors, and the co-op is willing to forgo profits to do so.
AlixPartners, the global consulting firm, forecasts that holiday sales will be up anywhere from 4% to 7%, far below last year's growth of 16%.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.