Black Friday 2011: Walmart, Target, Dell Begin Countdown to Holiday Shopping Date

By Nicola Menzie, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, October 27, 2011

Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year, is just around the corner with less than one month remaining until Thanksgiving. Retailers like Walmart, Target and Dell, are already thinking ahead and have launched special holiday shopping pages on their websites for anxious shoppers.

Dell, which plans on offering hot deals on laptops, desktop computers, monitors, printers, televisions and other items, has launched its Black Friday page.

Dell, unlike some retailers, has not yet offered any teasers, but encourages consumers to check out some its current sales on PCs and other electronics.

Connecting with Dell's Facebook and Twitter accounts, and signing up for email alerts are the best ways to get breaking updates on Black Friday sale rollouts.

Target has also published a Black Friday section to its website, with a calender graphic providing a countdown to the big shopping day. No deals have been previewed on Target's website, but a circular of the retailer's purported doorbuster items has been circulating online.

Among the items believed to be included as doorbusters are: PlayStation 3 Entertainment System (160GB at $249.99), Samsung 32-inch LCD HDTV (price not listed) and Xbox 360 (4GB at $199.99). Other items include video game accessories.

Doorbusters, incidentally, are hot items usually available in limited quantities on a first-come basis for early bird shoppers.

Walmart, unlike Dell and Target, has not launched a Black Friday section on its website as yet, but has published a notice to remind customers of the upcoming sale, as well as Cyber Week Deals - a follow-up to Cyber Monday (a major online shopping day for those who avoid in-store shopping on Black Friday).

In addition, Walmart has alerted customers of its "Christmas Price Guarantee," which allows buyers to get a price difference refunded on certain items they might find cheaper elsewhere between Nov. 1 and Dec. 25.

Some helpful websites to keep an eye on as the holiday shopping season gets underway include: www.theblackfriday.com, http://bfads.net and http://slickdeals.net, a community-run website that features discounts and deals all year round.