Walmart will launch Black Friday sales weeks before Black Friday

Winter shopping season is starting earlier, say analysts

Walmart has announced that it will hold a series of Black Friday sales events, the first of which will take part weeks before the actual date of 26 November.

Black Friday is the first Friday after Thanksgiving, and is usually the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States, with many stores offering their biggest sales and discounts of the year.

Last year, Walmart began a staggered sale, called ‘Deals for Days’ in order to comply with Covid-related social distancing measures, and is continuing the practice this year. The hypermarket giant will release hold the first of its Black Friday sales on 3 November, with other sales events online and in store throughout the month.

According to CNET, other US retail giants Target and Amazon have also already started promoting Black Friday-style deals in a trend that appears to show retailers stretching out the shopping season further still.

Analysts recently dubbed all of November to be “Black November”, referring to the long-term sales leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, reports NBC News

Katherine Cullen, the National Retail Federation (NRF)’s senior director of industry and consumer insights told the news outlet that while Black Friday used to be the start of the winter holiday shopping season, this is changing as retailers are now offering deals earlier and earlier.

“Before, Thanksgiving weekend was really the start of the shopping season. Now, we look at it as more of a halfway point,” said Ms Cullen.

“Black Monday and Cyber Monday are hallmark events that have a very important place both for consumers and retailers, but within a broader context of a longer shopping season.”