Recreational retailer REI just did something totally outrageous–they cancelled Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the holiday season.
This week REI announced that they will be closed on the day after Thanksgiving. As a specialist in products for the outdoors, they’re giving all their employees the day off to spend outdoors themselves.
This is sacrilege to those who have built up Black Friday as *the* biggest single day for holiday sales. The hype around Black Friday has made it seem bigger than Thanksgiving itself.
Will REI lose some sales on November 27th? Possibly, but not enough to make a difference. Their shoppers will wait till Saturday to go to the store, or they’ll shop online on Friday.
Meanwhile, REI has done something remarkable: They’ve found a way to stand out above the noise in the marketplace by actually picking up and going outside.
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