Walmart raises heat on holiday shopping with earlier Black Friday opening, guaranteed deals

Bentonville, Ark. -- Walmart will opens its stores at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, two hours earlier than a year ago. The retailer is also guaranteeing shoppers that it will have three of the most popular items it sells if they line up inside the store during a one-hour event that day.



“We know it's frustrating for customers to shop on Black Friday and not get the items they want,” said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer, Walmart U.S. “This year, for the first time ever, customers that shop during Walmart's one-hour event will be guaranteed to have three of the most popular items under their tree at a great low price.”



Walmart said that shoppers who are lined up inside the store between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Thanksgiving will be able to purchase the following items: an Apple iPad 2 with Wi-Fi for $399 plus a $74 Wal-Mart gift card; an Emerson 32-inch LCD TV for $148, down from the original $228; and an LG Blu-Ray Disc player for $38, about half off the original price.



For those shoppers who are inside the store during the one-hour window and find the product sold out, Wal-Mart will offer a guarantee card for the item. The item must be paid for by midnight and registered online. The product will then be shipped to the store where it was purchased for the customer to pick up before Dec. 25.