Walmart Black Friday 2020: the best deals we expect from Walmart
The Walmart Black Friday sale 2020 is on the way, with deals coming on all tech from home appliances to iPads, as well as laptops, games and streaming devices.
Deals aren’t going to land until Black Friday’s November 27 date is a little closer, but we’ve learned a lot about what Walmart Black Friday 2020 will look like. That means earlier deals to counter Prime Day, increased inventory for key items like TV and games consoles, plus greater availability for product types that have proved popular in 2020. In the past few years, Walmart has emerged as a real Black Friday frontrunner, with amazing deals online and in-store on items from laptops to games and appliances. Expect that to happen again with this year’s Black Friday deals at Walmart.
Walmart Black Friday 2020 is definitely going to represent a change: on July 27, the retailer announced all of its stores will be closed on Thanksgiving.
That doesn’t mean Walmart Black Friday is cancelled, by any means. Its physical stores will be closed on Thursday, November 26 and reopen again on November 27. In addition to that, its online Black Friday deals will be running across both Thanksgiving and Black Friday. As mentioned, too, deals are going up earlier this year as Walmart responds to the changing nature of consumer behavior in 2020 – starting in early October, with the Big Save event.
We’ve been doing the research to help you figure out how to save as much money as possible on Black Friday. Below, we’ll begin that process with a look at last year’s best Walmart Black Friday deals. Walmart Black Friday ads tend to spotlight the big deals a day earlier than rival US retailers, giving you 24 hours’ extra notice to snap up all the best deals. Expect a more staggered period of deals generally this year, however, in response to changing buying habits.
Walmart offers two-day and sometimes next-day delivery on eligible items when you spend $35 or more – that’s worth keeping in mind as you shop around this year.
Of course, avid Walmart consumers can now sign up for Walmart Plus, which is a subscription service kind of like Amazon Prime. It went live on September 15. New subscribers can try the service for 15 days free, and this offers same-day delivery in some cases, though the benefits vary depending on how close you live to a Walmart store.
Walmart Black Friday 2020 early deals
Walmart will debut ‘Black Friday-like’ deals in the Walmart Big Save event – with discounts confirmed on a JVC 55″ 4K HDR TV, Super Mario Party on the Nintendo Switch, Roku’s Ulta LT streaming media player, the Tzumi Ion Robotic Vacuum, and the Pioneer Woman 6 instant pot among other household items. The Big Save event runs from October 11-15.
Walmart Black Friday 2020 news: what to expect this year
In September 2020, Walmart announced how it’ll be strategizing for the Black Friday sales event this year, focusing on three key areas: the general increase in online shopping, ever-evolving wish lists and the need for fast and safe shopping experiences.
Walmart has based this on how consumer behavior has changed over the past six months in the midst of the pandemic, as people have trended more than ever to ordering online.
Walmart is planning to stagger the sales events with earlier deals, as well as hiring more than 20,000 ‘seasonal associates’ at its fulfillment centers to help deal with the increase in demand from online shopping. This is on top of hiring 500,000 new ‘associates’ across its entire operation to help get people the items they want.
It’s also changing the availability of certain types of items to reflect what Walmart calls the “new normal”: this includes an increase in availability on items like sports equipment, outdoor grills and even toys for pets.
Most relevant for us is a promised inventory increase on electronic items, with TVs, laptops and games called out as specific focus points. Expect kitchen appliances like goods by KitchenAid to get an inventory increase, too.
Walmart is trying to help customers plan their gift buying a little earlier this year. “We’ve heard from our customers that many plan on starting their holiday shopping well before Black Friday, and that they’re looking for gifts that fit their current lifestyle,” said Scott McCall, Walmart’s executive VP and chief merchandising officer. “So, we’ve adjusted our strategy to adapt to these new shopping preferences – we’re offering more of what they want now, earlier than ever, and all at the best prices.”
As mentioned, Walmart has unveiled its ‘Big Save’ initiative already – one of the ways in which it’s rolling out big discounts earlier.
In terms of the in-store experience at Walmart during Black Friday 2020, reduced store hours, required face coverings, sneeze guards and traffic management are being employed to help keep consumers and employees safe. Flexible pick-up and delivery options will also be used to give consumers more options to safely get the stuff they want.
