Here are the key points about Walmart's Black Friday plans:
- Walmart is holding two Black Friday sales events this year, similar to last year:
- Event 1: Deals start online Nov. 11 at noon ET for Walmart+ members, 5pm ET for all customers. In-store sale starts Nov. 15 at 6am local time.
- Event 2: Deals begin Nov. 25 at noon ET for Walmart+ members, 5pm ET for all customers. In-store sale starts Nov. 29 at 6am local time.
- The sales will feature deals across toys, entertainment, home, fashion, and more.
- Walmart is expanding the test of its generative AI-powered shopping assistant to "make holiday shopping easier".
- Walmart is offering a discounted $49 annual Walmart+ membership deal (regular price is $98) from now through Dec. 2.
- Walmart's Cyber Monday deals will start on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 5pm ET for Walmart+ members and 8pm ET for all customers.
- Walmart says it is committed to delivering the most competitive prices, especially on big-ticket items like TVs and electronics.
- The early shopping trend that started during COVID has continued, in part to attract inflation-weary consumers facing year-end budget limits.
Target has joined other big-box retailers in rolling out Thanksgiving meals that it says will cost less than previous years' offerings.
The Minneapolis-based chain said Monday that at $20 per person, its "traditional Thanksgiving feast" will cost $5 less than last year's deal.
The meal includes brand-name versions of turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans and mushroom soup.
Among the bigger cost savings is turkey at $0.79 a pound, 20% lower than last year, Target said.
The meal is designed to serve four.
Members of the Target Circle 360 paid membership rewards program will also get a free pizza.
Target is also offering side dishes and desserts like mac and cheese and pies for under $5.
Last week, Target said it will have lowered prices on some 10,000 items in 2024 amid slowing inflation.
Target's announcement follows similar ones by Walmart and Aldi last week announcing lower-cost Thanksgiving meals. Walmart said its "inflation-free Thanksgiving meal" features 29 items serving eight people for less than $7 per person — a lower price point than last year's offering, it said.
Aldi, the grocery giant, said its 10-person Thanksgiving meal, at less than $47, is priced below what a similar meal would have cost in 2019.
In general, the rate of consumer price inflation has cooled substantially in 2024, rising just 1.6%. A measure that monitors the price of food eaten at home has climbed even less — just 0.5% in the year.
However, many consumers, especially those who earn lower incomes, continue to struggle under the weight of the overall price increases that have occurred since the onset of the pandemic. A recent Federal Reserve study found that those earning less than $60,000 per year have seen retail spending decline on the net from mid-2021 through mid-2023, and climb just 7.8% since 2018, compared with 17% for high earners and 13.3% for middle-income earners.
Just before the pandemic, the spending rates had been roughly about the same for each group.