Axios

Amazon is flexing its muscles against its big-box store competition with the first-ever Black Friday NFL game.

Why it matters: There's an epic battle to control consumers' wallets during the super-lucrative end-of-year holidays and the new game is expected to drive football fans to cut in-store shopping short.

Food banks squeezed by high levels of need and fewer donations are bracing for a tough holiday season.

Why it matters: High grocery prices mean consumers are less likely to donate food this holiday season — putting nonprofits in a tough spot for Thanksgiving and Christmas, newly released data shows.

Don't expect to find many stores open on Thanksgiving, especially if you need a pharmacy.

The big picture: Most of the nation's largest retailers from Costco to Walmart will keep doors closed on the holiday while CVS and Whole Foods Market are open with reduced hours Thursday.

Here's what's new on Paramount+, Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV+ this Thanksgiving weekend.

What we're watching: The sequel of a hit Nickelodeon movie, a show about Black history told through food, and a real-life version of the Squid Game are among the new releases.

Prices of popular holiday items will see deeper cuts online compared to last year's discounts.

Why it matters: While the U.S. economy has kicked into disinflation mode, deflation has been the prevailing trend for goods sold online — with more than half of the 18 main categories tracked by Adobe showing prices falling year-over-year.

Americans are expected to cook up plenty of order confirmation emails this Thanksgiving.

• Over the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, shoppers will shell out $37.2 billion online — up 5.4% from last year, Adobe Analytics projects.

A record number of shoppers are expected to shop Black Friday sales either in-store or online this weekend with the day after Thanksgiving projected as the busiest day, according to the National Retail Federation.

Why it matters: The days of camping out for doorbuster deals are over but inflation-weary consumers plan to shop for holiday gifts and treat themselves.

For all the gloomy forecasts about the U.S. economy — recession! unemployment jump! sticky inflation! — plenty of developments are underway that allow for some optimism and gratitude this holiday season.

Thanksgiving is all about the turkey for millions who celebrate the holiday, but Americans don't agree on which part of the bird is best to eat, according to a new AP/NORC poll.

Driving the news: Among respondents planning to celebrate this year, 43% said they go for the turkey's white meat compared to 28% who prefer dark meat.

Home sales are at their lowest since the Great Recession housing bust.

Why it matters: Housing is a huge part of the economy — it's about 17% of GDP if you include a broad bucket of activities like home purchases, remodeling, renting and construction.

Gen Z is expected to overtake baby boomers in the workforce by next year, per a new analysis of census data from Glassdoor.

Why it matters: The workplace is giving more Gen Z energy — and if you don't understand what that means, it's time to bone up on the younger generation's lingo and work style.

Thanks to the responses of 6,000+ Axios readers, the winners of Axios' favorite Thanksgiving sides poll have been selected. If you were to have Thanksgiving dinner with other Axios readers, you'd be having mashed potatoes, dressing, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, cranberry relish and pumpkin pie.