What you need to know
- Walmart has announced a reconfigured Black Friday 'Deals for Days' shopping event.
- Black Friday deals will be spread across November with online availability first.
- The deals begin on November 4.
With everything that's been going in the world in 2020, no one expected Black Friday to be a single, in-store shopping event this year. We've seen a bunch of retailers like Best Buy and Target confirm that their sales will look a little different this fall, and Walmart is the latest retail giant to reveal its plans for the traditional holiday shopping season.
Instead of inviting shoppers into its stores en masse, Walmart is spreading out its Black Friday promotions throughout the month of November with deals starting in just three weeks' time. The reconfigured sale, entitled 'Black Friday Deals for Days', features three separate events with the retailer's deals appearing online a couple of days before continuing in-store, presumably to discourage crowds at its brick-and-mortar locations, with home delivery and contact-free curbside pickup options.
Event 1 begins on November 4 online with deals on toys, electronics, and home products. The event will continue in-store from November 7. Similarly, Event 2 kicks off on November 11 and focuses on deals on electronics, like TVs, computers, and tablets, with more deals launching online and in-store on November 14.
Walmart will then wrap up its Deals for Days promotion with a third event that begins online on November 25 with new deals dropping online at midnight on Thanksgiving (and 5am on November 27 in-store) for Black Friday itself.
Scott McCall, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S., said:
"Customers trust Walmart to deliver an amazing Black Friday year after year. Although this year's event looks different, our commitment to what our customers depend on us for – the absolute best prices of the season on hot gifts from top brands – hasn't changed. I'm really excited that this year, when it matters most to our customers, we're offering them more convenient and safer ways to shop Black Friday at Walmart, whether that's from the shelf in one of our stores, ordering online and picking it up curbside or having it delivered right to their front door."
Walmart also confirmed that shoppers can look forward to deals from top brands, like HP, Instant Pot, LEGO, L.O.L. Surprise!, Roku and Shark during its Black Friday sales, including many deals that can only be found at Walmart.
If you choose to shop in-store during these Black Friday events, Walmart will be metering customers into the store to help reduce congestion and aid social-distancing. Since the majority of deals will be available early and online from the comfort of your own home, it makes sense to participate in the online portion of these sales and only make the trip to the store if you have to.
