This will be a holiday selling season unlike any other. No matter where you may be in the world, the pandemic has disrupted:

• the normal flow of goods
• promotional plans
• entertainment tie-ins
• not to mention consumers’ psyches and purchasing power.

Jumbled calendar
The calendar has been jumbled in so many ways. Amazon moved its Prime Day to Oct. 5 from July – which could take it from a freestanding “Christmas in July” vibe and turn it more into a more of an early holiday shopping opportunity. For example, Salesforce.com estimates the date shift could steal 10% from typical post-Thanksgiving Cyber Week sales given that there will only be 50 days between the two “events.” (Presumably, China’s mega-shopping event, Singles Day, won’t shift off its symbolic date of 11/11.)

What about Thanksgiving itself? Major U.S. retailers such as Target, Walmart, Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods have already announced they’ll be closed on a day that has steadily been creeping onto the sales calendars, as merchants tried to leapfrog  over each other to launch Black Friday doorbuster promotions earlier and earlier.

Black Friday?
To be sure, consumers will continue to hunt for bargains. But the significance of the event as the kind of chaotic brick-and-mortar kickoff to the holiday selling season pictured above likely will be greatly diminished. As retail watcher Warren Shoulberg noted about Black Friday and the subsequent weekend: “How frenzied it will be is a big question, with crowds impacted by the pandemic and social distancing requirements, as well as general apprehension of crowds and contagion among most sane shoppers.”

Much of what consumers will find in way of bargains is far from settled. While in years past retailers typically set promotional strategies with orders in March, this year some orders are currently still pending and others cancelled, executives at accessories suppliers.

When the pandemic broke in March, many of these orders were put on hold and some haven’t resurfaced yet,” says an executive at one apparel supplier. “The calendar has been flipped upside down.”

In addition, an expected reduction in container ship capacity and unpredictable demand will create supply and demand challenges, causing consumers to buy earlier to secure the products they want, Salesforce said. And given the economic uncertainty, consumers also will be on the hunt for deals via promotions or coupon codes, both of which historically been a major influence in holiday purchases.

In addition, about 30% of consumers are expected to make holiday purchases online, bypassing entering brick-and-mortar stores altogether in favor of home delivery, curbside or in-store pick

The rise in digital sales will likely be accompanied by a change in the nature of the products being purchased. Home goods and electronics are expected to be top-sellers as they have been during the pandemic.  And an expected decline in apparel may be tempered by surging sales of face masks – many retailers are dedicating sections at checkout and in fashions accessories departments  to them – gaiters and scarves, says an accessories supplier.

Face masks? It’s most certainly a different year.