Black Friday 2011: Walmart Unveils 'Circular Deals'
Walmart announced it will open its doors at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving, and the retail giant gave shoppers a preview of the deals expected on Black Friday.
Walmart will discount different items at certain times starting on Thanksgiving night. When the door opens at 10 p.m, Walmart will offer sales on clothes, toys and house and home items. Barbies will be sold for $5, jeans will be priced under $10 and children's pajamas for $4.47.
At midnight, the retailer will start marking down electronics. Samsung 51-inch plasma televisions will go for $498, Kodak 14-megapixel cameras for $49 and Magellan GPSs for $69.
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Then, at 8 a.m., more discounts will go into effect and last through the weekend. The Vizio 42-inch 3D LED Wi-Fi HDTV will sell for $598 and select DVDs for $12.96 each.
The retailer said they decided to open earlier based on their customers’ preferences.
Duncan Mac Naughton, Wal-Mart's chief merchandising officer in the United States, said in a statement: "Our customers told us they would rather stay up late to shop than get up early, so we're going to hold special events on Thanksgiving and Black Friday."
In the past few weeks, retailers scrambled to find ways to maximize their sales on the day after Thanksgiving. Macy's decided to open at midnight on Black Friday for the first time in the store's 153-year history. Kohl's, Target and Toys R Us announced they will be opening their doors at midnight as well.
Online retailers also tried to get shoppers excited about the holiday season. Amazon features a "lightning deals" section that allows customers to see products about to be placed on sale.
Holiday retail sales are expected to rise 3 percent and 212 million people are projected to go shopping on Black Friday, spending around $39 billion, according to Shopper Trak.
