Black Friday used to be the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, but retailers are now opening doors on Thanksgiving, hoping to reach the shoppers who are unwilling to camp outside a store in the bitter cold for a 5 a.m. Friday opening.
Retail giant Walmart announced earlier this month that doors will open at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day to kick off their holiday shopping season. But they’re not alone: Target, Toys R Us and Macy’s have also joined in on the Turkey Day fun.
“Our customers told us they would rather stay up late to shop than get up early, so we’re going to hold special events on Thanksgiving and Black Friday,” Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “We’ll have this season’s hottest gifts at prices only Walmart can provide. And by sharing our Black Friday specials earlier than ever, we hope to make buying decisions easier for parents working hard to give their families the Christmas they deserve.”
Walmart’s Black Friday events will be held at three separate times:
• 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day – Top Toys, Home and Apparel
• Midnight on Black Friday – Electronics
• 8 a.m. Nov. 25 through the weekend – Gifts for the entire family
Customers will also be able to get deals on walmart.com, on Thanksgiving Day, the company said. Walmart is already advertising a special on 46” HDTVs for under $400.
On Black Friday, the retail giant will have deals on HDTV’s, DVD players, clothes, computers, cameras, movies, video games, bikes and a number of other items.
This is Walmart’s midnight event:
• Emerson® 32″ LCD TV (31.5″ diagonal screen size) – $188
• LG Blu-ray™ Player – $49
• Kodak C1450 14 MP Camera – $49
• Sansui 19″ TV (18.5″ diagonal screen size) – $98
• HP® DJ-1051 All-in-One Printer – $19
• HP® 15” AMD Dual-Core Laptop – $248
• Philips® Wi-Fi Blu-ray™ Home Theatre – $178
• Magellan 4.7″ GPS – $69
• 8GB iPod Touch – $195
• Samsung 51″ Plasma TV (50.7″ diagonal screen size) – $498
