Black Friday: Best Buy vs. Target vs. Wal-Mart

Don’t let the mild weather and lack of holiday decor fool you – Christmas is only six weeks away. Serious shoppers are already gearing up for Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, and big box stores are teasing their deals early. Here’s what three of the most popular are offering:

Best Buy

As usual, Best Buy is luring in shoppers with discounts off of big electronics, like TVs and tablets. They released their Black Friday catalog yesterday and one of the biggest deals this year is a 50-inch Panasonic LED HDTV for $200. They will also be selling the Samsung Galaxy 5 phone for just $1, saving shoppers almost $200. iPad Air tablets will be $100 off, with prices starting at $400, while those interested in buying the Dell touch-screen laptop can save $100, scoring the item for $300. Almost all of these big discounts are only available in stores and are not offered online. Doors open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Target

Giving Best Buy some competition, Target is also offering steep deals on electronics. Online and in-store shoppers can score Beats headphones for $97, a 40-inch LED TV for $119 and a 29-inch LED TV for $79. But besides electronics, Target is also giving big discounts on toys and video games. With the new Assassin’s Creed game hitting stores November 15, Target is selling a bundle including Assassin’s Creed Black, Assassin’s Creed Unity and a $50 gift card for $330. LEGOs will be 40 percent off and many toys in the $50 – $100 will be up to 50 percent off. Doors open at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Wal-Mart

Last year on Thanksgiving Day, 22 million people headed to Wal-Mart when the doors opened at 6 p.m., according to CNN Money. This year, the store is opening at the same time and offering big discounts on electronics, toys and more. Vizio’s 65-inch smart TV will be on sale for $648, while tablets and phones will be highly discounted as well. In an effort to cut down on people fighting each other, the store is guaranteeingsale items to everyone who makes it in the store by 7 p.m. (if stock runs out, they can order the item and pick it up later), and rolling out new discounts at 8 p.m.