Black Friday: Where to find the best holiday shopping deals

Best Buy, Walmart, Target, other retailers release ads

ORLANDO, Fla. – Thanksgiving is right around the corner, which means Christmas shopping season is almost here, too.

Many major retailers have already released their Black Friday ads, including Best Buy, Kohl's, Macy's, Target and Walmart.

The website BestBlackFriday.com has compiled all the ads, showcasing the best deals.

According to Walmart's ad, stores will open at 6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day and the prices are valid from then through Friday. Walmart's online sale begins the night before Thanksgiving.

Some of Walmart's best deals include a 40-inch TV for $99 and the new Sony PS4 1TB Slim Spider-Man bundle for $199.

Best Buy opens at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The electronics store's ad features a Toshiba 43-inch LED 2160p Smart 4K UHD TV with HDR Fire TV Edition for $129.99, a $200 savings.

Target will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and close at 1 a.m. Friday before reopening at 7 a.m. Friday.

Anyone purchasing a new phone can get a Target gift card as well. Target will bundle gift cards with several deals, including a free $150 Target card with an iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8 or iPhone X with qualified activation from Verizon, Sprint or AT&T. The store is also giving a free $250 Target gift card with the purchase of an iPhone XS or iPhone XS with qualified activation from Verizon, Sprint or AT&T.

Kohl's will open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving, the same time as last year.

Kohl's is offering Amazon Echos for $69 and Echo Dots for $24 as doorbusters.The store also features the Xbox One X and the Nintendo Switch in its ad.

Macy's will also open at 5 p.m on Thanksgiving Day and close at 2 a.m. Friday before reopening four hours later.

The first page of Macy's ad features 12 items that are free after a mail-in rebate. The rebate deals, which include slow cookers, watches and perfume, are only valid if purchased in-store.

Early Start

Walmart, meanwhile, says it's getting a jump on the holiday shopping season.

The retailer says it is stationing store workers in the busiest sections of its 182,000-square-foot supercenters and smaller stores. The company is outfitting those workers with mobile checkout scanners to ring up customers on the spot.

Walmart says the mobile scanners will allow shoppers buying big, bulky items such as Christmas trees and flat-screen TVs to bypass registers at the front and head straight to their cars.

"We put a lot of work in our stores on the checkout experience," Steve Bratspies, Walmart's chief merchandising officer said on a call with reporters Monday. "We're always looking for new ways to do it. We think this is one that — particularly at the busy holiday time — customers are going to really appreciate."

Walmart is also adding detailed digital store maps to its mobile app to allow shoppers to quickly find aisles and products.

The two initiatives underscore Walmart's emphasis on smooth store operations and customer service during the holiday season. Despite the growth of online shopping, 85 percent of retail sales still take place in stores, according to a Moody's report released earlier this month. That's where Walmart is putting most of its firepower.

The company has an online strategy, too.

Walmart redesigned its website earlier this year and added more than 2,000 brands. For the holidays, the retailer will add a "deals hub" that will refresh regularly with new promotions. That page will include a list of products recommended by Ellen DeGeneres.

Walmart also recently expanded the number of items available for free two-day shipping on its marketplace. Eligible orders must be worth $35 or more.

Competitor Target said last week that it would offer free two-day shipping on all online orders during the holidays. Walmart executives said Monday that they have no plans to match that.

Closed on Turkey Day

Some stores are refusing to open on Thanksgiving Day, offering their employees time with their families instead.

These stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day 2018:

  • A.C. Moore
  • Abt Electronics
  • Academy Sports + Outdoors
  • Ace Hardware
  • Acme Tools
  • Allen Edmonds
  • American Girl
  • At Home
  • AT&T (Company-Owned Stores)
  • Barnes & Noble
  • Big 5 Sporting Goods
  • BJ’s Wholesale Club
  • Blain’s Farm & Fleet
  • Bob’s Discount Furniture
  • Burlington
  • Christopher & Banks
  • Cost Plus World Market
  • Costco
  • Craft Warehouse
  • Crate and Barrel
  • Dillard’s
  • dressbarn (majority of stores)
  • Fleet Farm
  • Gardner-White Furniture
  • Guitar Center
  • H&M
  • Half Price Books
  • Harbor Freight Tools
  • Hobby Lobby
  • Home Depot
  • HomeGoods
  • Homesense
  • IKEA
  • JOANN Stores
  • Lowe’s
  • Marshalls
  • Mattress Firm
  • Music & Arts
  • Nordstrom
  • Nordstrom Rack
  • P.C. Richard & Son
  • Patagonia
  • Pep Boys
  • Petco
  • PetSmart
  • Pier 1 Imports
  • Publix
  • Raymour & Flanigan Furniture | Mattresses
  • REI
  • Sam’s Club
  • Sierra Trading Post
  • Sportsman’s Warehouse
  • Sprint (retail stores closed unless mall dictates otherwise; mall kiosks may open)
  • Staples
  • Stein Mart
  • Sur La Table
  • The Container Store
  • TJ Maxx
  • Tractor Supply Co.
  • Trollbeads
  • Von Maur
  • West Marine
     

About the Author:

Daniel started with WKMG-TV in 2000 and became the digital content manager in 2009. When he's not working on ClickOrlando.com, Daniel likes to head to the beach or find a sporting event nearby.

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