Walmart to kick off Black Friday early with celebrities, AI
Black Friday officially starts at Walmart on Monday, Nov. 11, with plenty of atar power and some help from artificial intelligence.
Walmart, which already held its first "Holiday Deals" event of the season Oct. 8-13 and is offering an "inflation-free" discount Thanksgiving dinner package designed to serve eight people for less than $7 per person, will launch a three-part Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024.
Event one deals begin online Monday, Nov. 11 at noon ET exclusively for paid Walmart+ members and 5 p.m. ET for all customers and starts in stores Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 a.m. local time.
Event two deals begin online Monday, Nov. 25 at noon ET exclusively for paid Walmart+ members and 5 p.m. ET for all customers and starts in stores Friday, Nov. 29 (the traditional Friday-after-Thanksgiving date of Black Friday) at 6 a.m. local time.
Cyber Monday deals start online-only one day early Sunday, Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. ET exclusively for paid Walmart+ members and 8 p.m. ET for all customers on Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
Walmart will also drop additional deals on its website and app throughout the event, as well as a discounted one-year membership in the Walmart+ paid subscription program for $49 (50% off regular price) through Monday, Dec. 2. See a partial list of Black Friday discounts here.
"We know customers are shopping for the holidays, and Walmart’s ‘Black Friday Deals’ events are a one stop shop for incredible savings on a wide assortment of the most-wanted items," said Latriece Watkins, executive VP and chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S. "Thanks to the hard work from all our associates, customers can rest assured we’ll have the season’s must-have gifts from top brands like Apple, Samsung, Xbox, Beats, Barbie, Lego, Dyson, Reebok, Levis and so many more."
Celebrities join the celebration
Walmart is launching a 10-chapter ‘advertainment’ series called "Deals of Desire" on Monday, Oct. 28 with a behind-the-scenes look and trailer teasing the story and star-studded cast, including Lisa Renna, Walton Goggins, Taye Diggs, Chad Michael Murray, Anthony Ramos and Ian Somerhalder.
AI shopping
Walmart is expanding the beta test of its generative AI-based shopping assistant, which is designed to enable customers to discover, evaluate and decide on the best product for their individual needs.
In addition, new this year, Walmart is leveraging AI and generative AI technology to offer a more personalized e-commerce sire, specifically predicting the type of holiday-related content that customers want to see during deal events and throughout the entire season.
[READ MORE: Walmart will personalize customer experience with generative AI]
"Everyone loves a bit of drama, and with 'Deals of Desire,' we’ve captured the exhilaration and ‘main character energy’ customers feel as they embark on their epic quests for the most sought-after savings during Walmart’s legendary ‘Black Friday Deals’ events," said William White, chief marketing officer, Walmart U.S. "This series infuses high drama entertainment with Walmart’s jaw-dropping deals to show up where our customers are in a fun, new way that takes culture commerce to the next level."
Based in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries.
