With stores remaining closed on Thanksgiving Day and the pandemic drastically changing the entire holiday shopping experience, Black Friday's usual in-store traditions hang in the balance.
Retailers have been tight-lipped about their exact Black Friday (Nov. 27) plans. But some have revealed (or hinted at) what's in store.
Is Black Friday cancelled?
A lot of people have been left wondering if Black Friday will be cancelled this year. The answer is a resounding -- No. There's still going to be a mad dash to scoop up deals on electronics, games, apparel and more. But the frenzy will be around a computer as retailers are opting for more online deals rather than long lines at front doors. With that said, some retailers will still hold "traditional" Black Friday sales in stores (i.e. Walmart). But this will be a supplement to, and not in place of, deals and discounts online.
Here's what we know so far:
Bath & Body Works Black Friday 2020 plans
Bath & Body Works is having a weeklong Black Friday event with new fragrances set to drop right before the sale begings:
- Nov. 23- 25, Black Friday deals will be available in-store only at Bath & Body Works.
- Nov. 26, Black Friday deals will be online only through their website.
- Nov. 27, Black Friday deals will continue in stores and online.
The weeklong event ends on Nov. 27.
Bed Bath & Beyond Black Friday 2020 plans
Bed Bath & Beyond is running a variety of deals and savings events leading up to, including and surpassing Black Friday:
- Oct. 16 to Dec. 23, shoppers can find a new "Gift of the Week" promo. This promo runs three days a week only.
- Nov. 2 to Dec. 24, customers will find a special deal on one hot item every day.
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals will be offered across multiple days.
- Members of the Beyond+ loyalty program will receive a special bonus during Black Friday week.
Best Buy Black Friday 2020 plans
Best Buy will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. On Oct. 29, Best Buy released their 2020 Black Friday ad with a schedule of events that will last throughout November, which was promised back on Oct. 8.
First up is the Best Buy Flash sale with select early Black Friday preview deals available until Nov. 1. Check here as deals go live at Best Buy.com. Deals include:
- Apple Watch Series 6 for $20 off.
- Beats by Dr. Dre Powerbeats Pro Totally Wireless Earphones for $159.99.
- Samsung 70-inch 4K Smart TV for $529.
Best Buy is also making order pick ups easier throughout the holiday season, including contactless curbside pickup, same-day and next-day deliveries, pick ups at UPS and CVS locations and Buy Online, Pickup In Store options.
Big Lots Black Friday 2020 plans
Big Lots announced that stores across the U.S. will be open on Thanksgiving Day, but with modified hours. Shoppers can pick up any last minute items on Nov. 26 from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Then on Nov. 27, Big Lots will re-open for Black Friday shopping from 6 a.m.-11 p.m.
BJ's Wholsesale Club Black Friday 2020 plans
Bj's Wholesale Club has announced it will remain closed on Thanksgiving Day.
In the statement, BJ's announced its Black Friday deals will be starting earlier this year so shoppers "can get their holiday shopping done wherever, whenever." The deals include:
- Early Bird Savings: Beginning Nov. 5 through Nov. 30, while supplies last.
- Black Friday Savings: Beginning Nov. 20 through Nov. 30, while supplies last.
- 5-Day Deals: Beginning Nov. 26 through Nov. 30, while supplies last.
Costco Black Friday 2020 plans
Costco released its Holiday Savings circular on Oct. 28 and revealed deals for the whole month of November, including Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend:
- Nov. 20 to 30: Online and warehouse savings.
- Nov. 26: Online savings during Thanksgiving.
- Nov. 27 to 30: Online and warehouse savings.
This year's crop of Black Friday deals includes TVs (with a heavy focus on Samsung), smartwatches, tablets, laptops, smart home tech and home goods. As is Costco's tradition, various deals pop up on different days and are available in limited supply. Some deals are available online only. Costco will close on Thanksgiving, as it does every year.
Home Depot Black Friday 2020 plans
Home Depot has announced that it will run its Black Friday deals during November and December, both online and in stores. That takes the pressure off for a mad rush on Black Friday itself.
JCPenney Black Friday 2020 plans
JCPenney has announced its Black Friday deals will kick off the holiday season starting in mid-October with Cyber Days from Oct. 12-14. Then, weekend sales events will continue throughout November "with an early Black Friday preview and exciting, limited-time deals at Black Friday prices available throughout the entire month." And December will be capped off with even more deals on all holiday gifts.
Kohl's Black Friday 2020 plans
Kohl's will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and has announced that deals will be available "earlier this year." It's also hiring seasonal workers for distribution and e-commerce fulfillment to prepare for more online shopping. Then, Kohl's announced their doors will open at 5 a.m. on Nov. 27 for Black Friday shopping. They plan to continue their increased health and safety measures, including curbside and in-store pickup options.
Macy's Black Friday 2020 plans
Macy's has been more transparent than other retailers about its Black Friday plans, going so far as to announce dates. According to the Black Friday page on its site, Black Friday specials will run Nov. 24 to 28 in stores, online and via the Macy's app. Stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, however, so consumers will have to shop online that day.
Macy's did, however, announce that shoppers will be able to get a preview of the upcoming Black Friday deals on Oct. 27. The retailer also confirmed these Black Friday deals will come the early part of November and will last "multiple days."
Newegg Black Friday 2020 plans
On Oct. 30, Newegg announced its annual 2020 Black November plans. Customers will get Newegg's first-ever Black Friday Price Protection for purchases made between Nov. 1-30. Plus, customers now have until Jan. 31, 2021 to return items they purchase from Nov. 1-Dec. 24.
Here's what we know about Newegg's Black Friday plans:
- Nov. 1-3: Three-day Black November Kickoff Sale, including these deals:
- AORUS CV27Q-SA 27" Frameless Curved 1500R Gaming Monitor - $369.99.
- Gigabyte Aorus 5 15.6" 144 Hz Intel Core i7-10750H GeForce RTX 2060 512 GB SSD Gaming Laptop - $1,149.00.
- ASUS ZenBook 14 Ultra-Slim 14" Laptop , 1 TB PCIe SSD UM425IA-NH74 - $849.99.
- Nov. 4-8: Newegg’s Black November Gaming Edition Sale.
- Nov. 9-22: Black Friday Starts Early Sale featuring early Black Friday and Cyber Monday savings with fresh deals released daily.
- Nov 23: Week-long Black Friday and Cyber Monday event with site-wide savings on products in all categories.
Nordstrom Black Friday 2020 plans
Nordstrom has announced their Black Friday and Cyber Monday plans, along with Nordstrom Rack's as well.
Here's what we know about Nordstrom's Black Friday plans so far:
- Nov. 20-Dec. 1: During the week of Thanksgiving, Nordstrom will have 12 days of big Cyber savings with up to 50% off more than 1,000 items in stores and online for women, men, kids and home. New deals will be added on Nov. 20, Nov. 23, Nov. 25 and Nov. 27.
Nordstrom Rack Black Friday 2020 plans
Nordstrom Rack will have the following Black Friday events:
Rack Friday: Nordstrom Rack is introducing "Rack Friday" for the Black Friday weekend. Deals will include:
- Nordstrom Rack Daily Deals: Launching "Daily Deals" online, and a new deal arriving each day.
- Rack Friday Limited Time Flash Events: Features the best of Nordstrom Rack brands for women, men and kids.
- Rack Friday Clearance Event: During the Black Friday weekend, the "Rack Friday Clearance" event kicks off in stores and online for the best savings of the year.
Sam's Club Black Friday 2020 plans
Sam's Club announced back in September that its holiday deals would start early this year. And true to their word, Sam's Club mailed out its "Big Holiday Savings" book to Sam's customers.
The pre-Black Friday sale is the Savings Event, which is nine days (Nov. 7-15) of deals both online and in stores. Then just five days later, the 10 Days of Thanks-Savings event will start Nov. 20-29 online, and even more deals available in stores.
Staples Black Friday 2020 plans
On Oct. 29, Staples released information about its Black Friday holiday deals preview and season-long savings deals. The Weeklong Black Friday Deals will be available online and in stores beginning Nov. 22-29. Staples is also offering a few pickup options too, including curbside and in-store pickups, free same-day delivery with Instacart from Nov. 22-29 and free delivery with no minimum purchase at Staples.com throughout the holidays.
Target Black Friday 2020 plans
Target will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. Target dropped Round 1 of its 2020 Black Friday Deals on Oct. 29. Back on Sept. 29, Target announced that it will offer its Black Friday pricing for the entire month of November, with new digital deals dropping every day. Other holiday deals will roll out from October to December.
Here are a few deals from Round 1:
- Echo Dot (3rd Gen.) for $18.99.
- Fire TV Stick 4K for $29.99.
- Apple AirPods with charging case for $129.99.
The retailer will also offer an extended holiday price-match policy. If shoppers buy something from Target that falls in price at Target or Target.com, they can avail themselves of Target's Price Match Guarantee through Dec. 24 (the price-matching widow is usually just 14 days).
Target is also prepping for a surge in curbside order pickup, doubling the number of employees focused on its Drive Up service. It's also hiring more employees for its distribution centers, in anticipation of increased online shopping volume.
Walmart Black Friday 2020 plans
Walmart is a Black Friday giant and, as such, its Black Friday plans are some of the most anticipated every year. It will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.
On Oct. 14, Walmart released its official Black Friday deals schedule. It's calling its nearly-month-long event Black Friday Deals for Days. In 2020, it will spread its Black Friday sale out into three events (online AND in stores) like so:
Event 1 (Nov. 4 to 7)
Deals will go live on Walmart.com Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. ET. New deals will go live online Nov. 7 at 12 a.m. ET. Then, deals will drop in stores Nov. 7 at 5 a.m. local time. This event features deals on toys, electronics and home products. Check here to see Walmart's ad for the first event.
Event 2 (Nov. 11 to Nov. 14)
Deals will go live on Walmart.com on Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. ET. New deals will drop online on Nov. 14 at 12 a.m. ET and in stores at 5 a.m. local time. This event will feature savings on TVs, computers, tablets, apparel, home goods and more. Check here to see Walmart's ad for their second event.
Event 3 (Nov. 25 to 27)
You can think of this event as Walmart's actual Black Friday sale. It's very similar to what's happened in past years with deals dropping the day before Thanksgiving. The only difference is that Walmart is closed on Thanksgiving.
Deals will go live online on Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. ET. More deals will become available on Nov. 27 (aka Black Friday) online at 12 a.m. ET and at 5 a.m. local time in stores. Customers will be required to form a single, straight line to enter the in-store event, and Walmart will limit the number of shoppers in stores.
Walmart also stated in a Sept. 23 press release that it will "spread traditional Black Friday savings throughout the season and will have more deals available online." In that same press release, Walmart emphasized its focus on existing contact-free shopping options, including fast delivery, curbside pickup and the new Scan & Go feature available to Walmart+ subscribers. And that's the right move, because contactless shopping (curbside in particular) is going to be a huge priority for shoppers this holiday season.
Sam's Club Black Friday 2020 plans
The warehouse club has announced all its holiday-season sale dates for 2020. And that schedule includes a longer (10-day) Black Friday sale. For comparison, the Sam's Club 2019 Black Friday sale was four days long. Its tradiditional October, November and December savings events will also be in full effect.
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