Target (TGT  ) and Kohl's (KSS  ) announced on Thursday that they have begun their seasonal hiring processes, but are making a few changes in their approach to adapt to new consumer shopping habits that have evolved during the coronavirus pandemic.

For Target, twice the amount of usual seasonal hires will be dedicated to same-day curbside and in-store pickup of online purchases compared to the first half of the year. The company is expecting an unprecedented surge that will top the levels first seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Distribution centers will be stocked with more workers than last holiday season, and some workers will be hired to focus on keeping the stores safe and clean. Target planning to cross-train so that every station can have more help as need, especially during peak business hours.

At Kohl's, the department store chain is looking to place its new hires in consumer facing roles as well as emphasizing positions in distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers as the retailer beefs up its online presence. The retails is also piloting a test at 300 of its locations that will outfit them to become mini fulfillment centers for online orders, with Kohl's adding more inventory and technology to those stores to allow for better efficiency.

Other big-box stores like Walmart (WMT  ) have also up their seasonal employees roles, with the retailer planning to increase staff to help pack and ship online purchases in the company's fulfillment centers. Other shipping companies like FedEx (FDX  ) and UPS (UPS  ) have also begun to prepare for the surge in deliveries, even as they are still trying to cope with current demand.

Preliminary forecasts for this upcoming holiday season--which is typically measured between November to January--are predicting only a modest rise in sales as consumers still grapple with the ongoing financial crisis and recession fears. Consulting firm Deloitte predicts that retail sales during this time period will increase between 1% and 1.5%, amounting to about $1.147 trillion to $1.152 trillion. Deloitte noted that the holiday sales rise would depend on both how much high-income consumers spend and how much low-income consumers save.

"This year, one of two holiday scenarios will play out," said Rod Sides, Vice Chairmen at Deloitte, quoted by CNBC. "We are going to see groups of consumers recover differently."

Vaccine Update

Novavax (NVAX  ) began a late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom in partnership with Britain's Vaccine Taskforce on Thursday, expecting to enroll up to 10,000 adult participants.

The biotech recently released data that showed that the vaccine candidate produced high levels of antibodies against the coronavirus in a small clinical, according to Reuters. The company hopes to have data from its late -stage trial within the next six weeks that will support regulatory submission for the U.K. and the European Union, as well as other countries. The company plans to file for United States approval in December.

Novavax stated that it could produce up to 2 billion doses of the shot by mid-2021.