The world has changed in many ways since the coronavirus pandemic struck. Now, you can add end-of-the-year holiday shopping to the list of time-honored traditions being affected. Many retail businesses are launching the holiday shopping season earlier than ever this year. They hope to keep large crowds out of stores and avoid problems when shipping products in November and December. American retail stores like Best Buy, Macy’s, and Target often offer their biggest deals on “Black Friday.” That is the day after the American observance of Thanksgiving in late November. Now, retailers are planning to start offering deals this month. With more people expected to buy products online, retailers are trying to avoid getting a lot of orders in mid-December just before Christmas. That could lead to late gift arrivals and higher shipping costs. Many stores could not keep up with demand when Americans were locked down in their homes during the early days of the pandemic. Online retailer Amazon had to add 175,000 workers to meet demand for products on its website. Black Friday has long been the unofficial start to the holiday season in the United States. However, retailers have been trying to get Americans to start holiday shopping earlier for the past 10 years or so.
Title: Holiday Shopping Starts Early in the U.S. this Year
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/A.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Holiday Shopping Starts Early in the U.S. this Year' data-article-id='5108'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='8938'>The world has changed in many ways since the coronavirus pandemic struck.</span> <span data-start-time='8938' data-end-time='19354'>Now, you can add end-of-the-year holiday shopping to the list of time-honored traditions being affected.</span> <span data-start-time='19354' data-end-time='28708'>Many retail businesses are launching the holiday shopping season earlier than ever this year.</span> <span data-start-time='28708' data-end-time='39729'>They hope to keep large crowds out of stores and avoid problems when shipping products in November and December.</span> <span data-start-time='39729' data-end-time='52042'>American retail stores like Best Buy, Macy’s, and Target often offer their biggest deals on “Black Friday.”</span> <span data-start-time='52042' data-end-time='59667'>That is the day after the American observance of Thanksgiving in late November.</span> <span data-start-time='59667' data-end-time='66958'>Now, retailers are planning to start offering deals this month.</span> <span data-start-time='66958' data-end-time='81438'>With more people expected to buy products online, retailers are trying to avoid getting a lot of orders in mid-December just before Christmas.</span> <span data-start-time='81438' data-end-time='87667'>That could lead to late gift arrivals and higher shipping costs.</span> <span data-start-time='87667' data-end-time='99458'>Many stores could not keep up with demand when Americans were locked down in their homes during the early days of the pandemic.</span> <span data-start-time='99458' data-end-time='112250'> Online retailer Amazon had to add 175,000 workers to meet demand for products on its website.</span> <span data-start-time='112250' data-end-time='121313'>Black Friday has long been the unofficial start to the holiday season in the United States.</span> <span data-start-time='121313' data-end-time='132396'>However, retailers have been trying to get Americans to start holiday shopping earlier for the past 10 years or so.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/A.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=16030 data-hint-location='52042' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/what_is_black_friday.wav'>What is Black Friday?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='The day after Thanksgiving known for holiday bargains'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/the_day_after_thanksgiving_known_for_holiday_bargains.wav'><span>The day after Thanksgiving known for holiday bargains</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/the_day_the_us_lost_a_famous_battle_during_the_korean_war.wav'><span>The day the U.S. lost a famous battle during the Korean War</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/the_day_most_people_start_their_diets_after_a_holiday.wav'><span>The day most people start their diets after a holiday</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/the_start_of_the_covid19_pandemic.wav'><span>The start of the COVID-19 pandemic</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=16031 data-hint-location='99458' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/how_many_workers_did_amazon_hire_to_meet_the_demand_of_early_holiday_shoppers.wav'>How many workers did Amazon hire to meet the demand of early holiday shoppers?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='175,000 '><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/175000_.wav'><span>175,000 </span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/75000.wav'><span>75,000</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/175.wav'><span>175</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/25000.wav'><span>25,000</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=16032 data-hint-location='112250' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/black_friday_has_been_the_unofficial_start_to_the__blank_.wav'>Black Friday has been the unofficial start to the <span class='blank'>holiday season</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='holiday season'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/school_year.wav'><span>school year</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/super_bowl.wav'><span>Super Bowl</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/holiday_season.wav'><span>holiday season</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/4581/olympics.wav'><span>Olympics</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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