Walmart Starts Online Holiday Shopping Season with Seven Big Deals

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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Why wait for Black Friday or Cyber Monday to start holiday shopping? That is the question Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) would like shoppers to consider. Walmart has decided to kick things off with seven big deals on TVs, tablets and more, available online starting shortly after midnight Friday.

Last year, Walmart offered about 100 holiday deals online after Halloween, though they were mostly home decor. Still, the company saw traffic on its website surge at the time. This year, more than 300 holiday deals will be available at Walmart.com, including toys.

A 42-inch JVC LED TV will be among the seven big deals. It will go for $299, which would be a savings of 36%. Early shoppers can also get a 10-inch XELIO tablet for $49, or more than half off, while supplies last. And Walmart also now offers free shipping for orders of more than $50 on nearly everything sold on Walmart.com.

What makes Walmart and other big retailers, such as Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), nervous are the signs that customers have scaled back on purchases heading into the holiday shopping season. Though the housing and job markets are recovering, that growth has not been especially strong. The 16-day government shutdown also shook shoppers’ confidence.

Retailers also are well aware that this year the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is six days shorter than it was in 2012. Several retailers, including Macy’s and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) have said they will open their doors on Thanksgiving evening for the first time. Walmart did so last year but has not announced yet whether it will do so again this year.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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