Thanksgiving Day Store Closures

Within the past few weeks, major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Best Buy have announced plans to close their brick and mortar locations on Thanksgiving Day. In an effort to protect consumers’ safety amidst the pandemic, retailers across the nation are looking for ways to monitor store capacity and limit large crowds throughout the upcoming holiday shopping season. Some retailers are expected to kick off their seasonal discounts both in-store and online as early as November 1, with many also expanding services like curbside pickup as an added convenience to shoppers during this time.

To understand consumer sentiment around these announcements, we asked our audience if they agree with retailers’ decision to close on Thanksgiving Day and whether store closures will impact their overall holiday shopping plans. Finding that 37% of Americans surveyed typically shop on Thanksgiving Day, we also explore their online versus in-store shopping preferences and which approach they expect to take this November.

August 5, 2020

Where do you typically shop on Thanksgiving Day?

85

of Americans typically shop in-store on Thanksgiving Day, with 52% exclusively shopping in-store.

A circle graph breaking down where Americans typically shop on Thanksgiving Day

Where do you plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day this year?

This year, consumers plan to shift most of their Thanksgiving Day shopping online. Compared to typical Thanksgiving Day shopping behavior, we expect to see a 73% increase in those who shop exclusively online. Only 35% of consumers plan to shop in-store on Thanksgiving Day.

A circle graph showing where Americans plan to shop on Thanksgiving Day this year

Generational Trends

Compared to other age groups, baby boomers are most likely to shop exclusively in-store on Thanksgiving Day. Millennials and Gen Zers plan to shop either online or a combination of both online and in-store.

Bar graph comparing how each generation plans to shop on Thanksgiving Day

Do you agree with stores closing on Thanksgiving Day?

58% of consumers agree with major retailers closing their brick and mortar stores on Thanksgiving Day.

58% of Americans agree with the majority of retailers closing their stores on Thanksgiving Day this year

Women are more likely than men to agree with stores closing on Thanksgiving Day.

60% of women agree with retailers saying closed on Thanksgiving Day vs 55% of men

Gen Xers and baby boomers are more likely than their younger counterparts to support store closures.

A bar graph comparing if Americans agree with stores stying closed on Thanksgiving Day by generation

Does the closure of Walmart and Target on Thanksgiving Day impact your holiday shopping plans?

Most consumers (68%) are not letting major retailer’s decisions to close on Thanksgiving Day impact their holiday shopping plans.

68% of Americans don't plan to let store closures impact their Thanksgiving Day shopping plans

Thanksgiving Day closures will have the largest impact on Gen Zers' shopping plans.

A bar graph comparing the impact store closures on Thanksgiving Day will have based on generation

See what other insights we've gathered to date

Back-to-School Shopping Habits

See Results

FAQs

How is this data collected?

‘Fluent Pulse’ reflects a daily online survey collected across Fluent’s portfolio of owned & operated websites.

Who is the audience?

Fluent attracts a massive audience across its network of owned media properties. While all segments of the US population are represented, the below are our most prevalent demographic skews:

Demographic Attribute Over Penetrated Among
Age Median: 38

61% between the age of 18 & 44

Gender 50/50 Male/Female
Education High School Degree or Some College
Homeownership 61% Renters
Households with Children 42% of Audience

How many people were surveyed?

On average, 150,000 – 175,000 consumers respond daily.

Is the data weighted?

No, but representative of the overall Fluent Audience.

How do you protect consumers data privacy?

All responses related to this survey are anonymized; only survey responses will be disclosed. At no point will consumer’s personal information will ever be disclosed.

What was your methodology?

Data has been collected from U.S. adults on a daily or weekly basis, dependent upon topic, since March 10, 2020. All data is sourced from Fluent’s portfolio of owned and operated media properties. Results are specific to the Fluent audience and not reflective of the general U.S. population.

The data presented on this site does not reflect the official opinion, policy or position of Fluent, Inc. This research is only meant to inform and illustrate, as an example, the rich data assets Fluent can derive insights from to drive in-market strategies.