During the 2013 holiday shopping season, more retailers followed a trend that began in 2012 – breaking tradition by opening for business before midnight on Thanksgiving Day instead of waiting until “Black Friday.”
This year, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, Macy’s and JCPenney are among those retailers that will open on Thanksgiving Day. Many will wait until evening to open, but Kmart is opening at 6 a.m. on what some critics have dubbed “Black Thursday.” Unlike 2013, however, other retailers, including Costco, Marshalls and GameStop, are riding the backlash against an even earlier start to the traditional holiday shopping season by announcing they will remain closed on Thanksgiving, opening instead on Friday as usual.
Regardless of when they open their brick-and-mortar stores, retailers are starting online discounts days before Thanksgiving, instead of waiting until Cyber Monday – the Monday after Thanksgiving, which has been one of the busiest days for online shopping.
The following University of North Texas faculty members are available to comment on Black Thursday, Black Friday and the changes to the traditional holiday shopping season:
Richard Last, senior lecturer in merchandising and digital retailing in UNT’s College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism, will discuss online sales and some retailers offering online-only specials in advance of Cyber Monday.
Last directs the digital retailing degree program in the college and is also the senior director of UNT’s Global Digital Retailing Research Center, which is located in the college. He is a past member of the board of directors of the National Retail Federation and a past chairman of the board of Shop.org. He is the founder of JCPenney's catalog website, jcp.com; former president of JCP Ecommerce L.P., and former director of digital ventures for J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
Office phone number: 940-565-2433
Cell phone number: 214-244-1595
Email: rich.last@unt.edu
Sanjukta Pookulangara, assistant professor of merchandising and digital retailing in the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism, will discuss shoppers using social networking sites before making a purchase, consumer engagement and social networking sites and omni-channel retailing — providing customers with multiple sources of product information when they are shopping through in-store displays, retailer websites, online review sites, online marketplaces and social media.
Pookulangara’s research has been recognized at the international conference on Recent Advances in Retailing and Services Science, sponsored by the European Institute of Retailing and Services Studies. In 2015, she and two other faculty members in the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism will present a special session at the institute’sInternational Conference.
Phone number: 940-765-6530
E-mail: sanjukta.pookulangara@unt.edu