Santa Claus is already nervous about coming to town
Hi everyone,
For my latest story — with my colleague Gillian Friedman — we dove into how different this year’s holiday season will look from years past. One stark illustration of the changes to come: mall and department store Santas are nervous about the virus and even opting out of visits with kids.
An excerpt from our piece: ““Santas are concerned about catching it, especially considering they’re immunocompromised,” said Stephen Arnold, a Memphis resident and president of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, a trade group with nearly 2,300 members. “Almost all of us have diabetes and heart conditions and are overweight and elderly.”
Mr. Arnold’s Santas are not the only ones thinking about how different the holidays will be at malls and department stores this year. Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping calendar, is still more than two months away, but retailers pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic have already been making decisions about inventory, staffing and how best to connect with customers skittish about visiting crowded stores during a pandemic. The result will be a 2020 season that is transformed in fundamental ways — and also unlikely to make up for the severe drops in revenue caused by the shutdowns.”
Please take a read and share your thoughts in the comments! https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/02/business/retailers-holiday-shopping.html
All best,
Sapna