Black Friday is 3 weeks away right? Nope, it's here now
Kohl’s, Costco, and Walmart kick off holiday shopping season early
This year, you won’t have to wait until the day after Thanksgiving to get massively discounted Black Friday deals.
Although the retail holiday is still three weeks away, Kohl’s, Costco, and Walmart have all dropped Black Friday sales on Friday to help you avoid the long lines and crowded stores that have become so synonymous with Black Friday.
“We know Black Friday shopping is a tradition for so many of our customers, and we’re thrilled to announce an amazing lineup of Black Friday deals and doorbusters as families begin preparing for the holiday season,” said Greg Revelle, Kohl’s chief marketing officer, in a news release, noting there will be "more deals than ever before leading up to the Black Friday shopping event."
The holiday shopping season is the Super Bowl of retail. In 2018, consumers spent $717 billion from November through December. The busiest in-store shopping days during the period are Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but store traffic has been declining. In 2018 shoppers in stores fell between 5% and 9% compared the previous year according to estimates from RetailNext, which uses cameras to track people in both mall-based and stand-alone retailers.
So with online shopping slowing down foot traffic, traditional retailers are starting early both in-store and online.
For the second year in a row, Kohl’s has posted its 64-page sale ad on Kohls.com early Friday with over 100 select sales and deals, which will be available through Nov. 3, both in-store and online.
A few of the pre-Black Friday Kohl’s deals include the Dyson Ball Animal 2 vacuum, which is on sale now for $299.99 and will earn customers $90 in Kohl’s Cash, a Jetson Element electric scooter for $199.99 that earns you $60 in Kohl’s Cash, and an American Tourister three-piece luggage set for just $79.99 with 20 percent coupon, earning buyers $15 in Kohl’s Cash.
THIS WEEK IS CALLED THE ‘BLACK FRIDAY’ OF HOUSING
However, customers will have to wait until Black Friday proper (between Nov. 28 to 29) for doorbuster deals on Nintendo Switch consoles with a carrying case, controller and charging dock for $319.99 that will earn customers $90 in Kohl’s Cash, Fitbit Versa LITE Edition smartwatches or Charge 3 advanced fitness trackers for $99.99 that come with $30 in Kohl’s Cash, and Instant Pot Duo Nova 7-in-1 6-qt. pressure cookers and Ace Nova blenders for $67.99 with a 15 percent coupon, earning $15 in Kohl’s Cash.
Meanwhile, Walmart, which announced pre-Black Friday sales on Oct. 23, has deals across the board on everything from gaming systems, TVs, computers, tablets, kitchen appliances and more.
A shopper attends Black Friday sales at the Eagle Rock Plaza in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles November 26, 2010. U.S. shoppers searched for deals on high-definition televisions and popular toys early on Friday, as retailers hoped that Black Frid
“Customers count on Walmart for the best prices every day, and the holiday season is no exception. Our price leadership is strong, and growing, and we’re excited to deliver savings for all of our holiday shoppers,” said Steve Bratspies, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Walmart U.S.
“Saving our customers time is also paramount at this time of year, especially with fewer days to get ready for big family meals, parties and gift-giving. We’re making sure this season is the easiest yet for our customers with nine tech-enabled ways to shop for everyone on their list – when and how they want,” Bratspies added.
IS BLACK FRIDAY STILL RELEVANT?
For the gamer in your family, Walmart’s pre-Black Friday deal will save you $60 on Xbox One S Call of Duty bundle for a mere $249 or an Xbox One All Digital Edition for $199, $51 off of its normal retail price.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 90.44 | +2.04 | +2.31% |
| KSS | KOHL'S CORP. | 17.04 | +0.66 | +4.00% |
| COST | COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. | 964.01 | +8.36 | +0.87% |
Vizio 50-inch M-Series Quantum televisions are on sale now for $398 saving you $150, Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 cameras for $51 saving you $19, and Apple Watches Series 3 with a power bank for $219, which saves you $10.
Costco’s 2019 Black Friday Ad ”is broken up into three different color-coded sections. The first section is the green section and is valid from November 7th through the 21st. The second section is blue and is valid from November 22nd through December 2nd, so it includes Black Friday. The third section is the red section and runs from November 29th through December 2nd. There is also a page of Thanksgiving day deals (November 28th) and a page for Cyber Monday deals (December 2nd),” according to the company’s website.
For Costco pre-Black Friday, customers can purchase a Lenovo S340 14-inch Chromebook starting on Nov. 7 (online only) for just $199.99, which is $100 off of its regular retail price. On Nov. 21, customers can save $60 on a Fitbit Versa 2, which will be on sale in-store for $139.99.