American retailer Target announces that it will not be open on Thanksgiving Day 2020. Target becomes the second retailer to announce nationwide holiday closures after Walmart and Sam's Club confirmed they'd be shut on Thanksgiving Day.

In an announcement on its corporate site, Target said that its stores would be closed on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2020. Shoppers can "count on getting extra-big savings without the extra-long lines," said the retailer, and deals will be available before and after November 26. However, it will be taking the big day off, giving Target shoppers a chance to take a "long nap" after snaffling their body weight in turkey.

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Target also said that its holiday deals will be available from October. This will make shopping Target safer and convenient, says the retailer, as its "biggest holiday deals" will be available in-store and online from then on. The retailer didn't hint at what sort of deals can expect but big video game discounts and cheaper console bundles are highly likely as they are often available every year.

shots fired target black friday

The decision to close stores on Thanksgiving could go a long way to keep shoppers safe as COVID-19 continues to infect people in the United States and around the world. Retailers like Target and Walmart have made face masks mandatory in their stores, but on Thanksgiving, with people packed in like sardines, wrestling over big-screen televisions and cut-price PS4s, the rate of infection is going to be so much higher. Asking people to just stay home could cut potentially cut that risk by a huge amount.

However, that doesn't make the closures any less surprising. A quick look at the release calendar shows just how stacked November 2020 is for video games. Major releases like Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be out that month, giving gamers a reason to rush to retailers, or make sure to get their online orders on.

The next-generation of consoles will also be launching this holiday. The Xbox Series X release date is likely to be near Thanksgiving and the PS5 is expected to launch around the same time. Discounts on newly-launched consoles are unlikely, but gamers will be looking for discounts on new game releases and trade-in offers for their old PS4 and Xbox One consoles. That may not be possible on Thanksgiving Day, but as Target's announcement said, gamers can just do that in the days before and after the holiday.

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Source: Target

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