At Walmart, Black Friday is all about variety. Just like with its everyday products and discounts, Walmart is trying to appeal to as many customers as possible. Accomplishing this means they have to offer the absolute best prices on pretty much every product that’s going to be remotely popular during the holiday season, and that’s exactly what they aim to do. Let’s look at the kinds of deals Walmart offered for Black Friday in 2014 in order to get a picture of what kinds of deals to expect this year.
Big-ticket electronics like televisions and gaming systems are among the first things that come to mind when thinking of Black Friday sales, and for good reason. There’s no better time of year to find the newest and best TVs and consoles at rock-bottom prices. These tend to be the loss-leaders on Black Friday – items stores sell at a loss to get people into the store – so they will be the best choice when considering what to buy.
During last year’s Black Friday sale, Walmart featured a 50-inch LED TV (brands varied by store) for $218 and a 65-inch Vizio Smart TV for $648. These sales are huge compared to the regular price of the items – $398 and $998, respectively. Expect the same kinds of sales this year since there hasn’t been much evolution in the TV market lately. Smart TVs are still gaining popularity right now, so there will probably be a similar Smart TV on sale, if not the exact same one. The generic LED TV featured may be a slightly different size this year, but it’s likely to be in the same price range.
When it comes to gaming consoles, it’s still all about the XBox One and PS4. Both of these consoles came out just in time for Black Friday 2013, so by last year’s Black Friday, they had both lost quite a bit of steam and weren’t in as high demand. There are still plenty of people without them, though, and they’ll be the top players in console gaming for the next couple of years either way.
Last year, Walmart offered an XBox One bundle, which included a new game, for $329 plus a $30 Walmart gift card, essentially making the bundle $300. There was a PS4 bundle for $399 that included two games and a $50 gift card as well. This year, PS4 bundles are available for $399 regularly and XBox One bundles are around $350, so if they’re part of the big sales like they were last year, prices could be $300 or less overall.
Because Walmart has such a huge variety of items, they are often much more varied on this front. For instance, last year’s sales featured a 7-inch Google Play tablet for $29, an HP laptop for $250 and the iPhone 5S for $79 with a two-year contract, among many others. There will be very similar sales this year, and now that the 6S and 6S Plus are out, we may see a great sale on the iPhone 6 this year. Walmart’s biggest personal electronics sales last year were two 97-cent phones. No really, 97 cents. They did require a two-year contract, of course. Expect a similar sale this year, as it was a big conversation piece and got people into the store.
Walmart has historically offered really great discounts on things like DVDs, Blu-Rays and video games when it comes to Black Friday. Last year, there were video games at price points between $15 and $50. It all depends on what title you’re looking for. The brand new games for the PS4 and XBox One, for instance, were the $50 ones, but there were also some really popular titles, like Madden 15 and FIFA 15, at the $35 price point, which is a huge savings on what they would normally cost at that time of year. Sales this year will be very similar – the new versions of Madden and FIFA, for instance, should be priced around the same range as last year, while brand new games like Fallout 4 may be priced closer to the $50 range.
DVDs and Blu-Rays are a completely different story. Last year, Walmart offered $2 and $4 DVDs as well as $4 and $7 Blu-Rays. And it wasn’t just the few they featured in the ad, either. They made sure to point out there were hundreds of titles at each price level. Unless the specific title you’re looking for is actually visible in the ad, you may have to venture into the store to know the price of the DVD you’re looking for. There will almost definitely be very similar sales this year. The price points may be slightly different and the titles themselves will definitely be different, but with hundreds of titles available, you’re sure to find something you like.
Toys are actually one of the worst things to buy on Black Friday because they tend to be cheaper toward the middle of December, but Walmart does offer really steep sales on a few things to get people into that section of the store. Last year, there was a small selection of board games for $5. These games included classics like Monopoly and Jenga, but were filled out with lesser-known games. They also offered a Thomas train set for $20, which was a 50 percent discount from the regular price, as well as $15 character scooters and pogo sticks and a $30 hockey table.
Toy sales vary greatly from year to year, so it’s not as predictable, but expect to see a similar board game sale as well as a couple of big sales on popular name-brand items, plus some outdoor toys thrown in for good measure. Of course, almost everything will be “on sale,” but keeping track of the regular price is the important part.
Walmart has a ton of items for home use and many will be on sale for Black Friday. Last year, there were special deals on things like electric heaters – there were some for $40 to $45 – and bedding sets, which started at $35. You can expect very similar sales on these items this year. Smaller things will also be on sale – there was a $5 Sertapedic pillow as well as $2 bath towels last year. Cooking accessories are another great place to save – Walmart featured an 18-piece cookware set for $50 last year, plus appliances as low as $10. People love to give things like George Foreman grills as gifts, so making those $10 was a great draw into that section for Walmart.
Expect to find a great deal on one luggage item and one vacuum as well – the type and brand will vary from year to year, but there’s always something to draw you in. Walmart also has great deals on tools and tires during Black Friday. There was a huge tool set for $69 last year, plus you could get savings of up to $53 per tire on new sets of tires.
Clothing is another type of product that isn’t that great to buy during Black Friday, but Walmart always offers great deals on a couple of specific items – again, to get people into those sections. Last year, pajama sets for kids were on sale for $4.50, kids jeans were $8, women’s pajama sets were $10 and some men’s shirts were $6. They may choose to switch up the categories of clothing this year, but the price points will likely stay the same. There were also some jewelry sets for $20, which you can likely expect to see again this year.
