Retailers ready for extended holiday season as consumers encouraged to shop early, shop safe

The National Retail Federation has launched a campaign that encourages consumers to shop early and shop safe as pandemic social distancing reshapes holiday gift-buying from a Black Friday frenzy to a months-long slog kicking off with mid-October promotions. The NRF’s “new holiday traditions” campaign, aimed at getting shoppers back in stores sooner rather than later in part to help retailers recover more quickly from coronavirus shutdowns, suggests that consumers “take the stress out of…