Start Dates and Deal Predictions

Outside of Amazon devices, the online retailer will also automatically match prices on popular products that are offered at other retailers. That means you can expect discounts on things like Apple devices, LEGO sets, laptops, TVs, and just about every other brand not exclusively owned by another major retailer. Amazon’s Black Friday sale will usually be offering the same low price (or lower) as any of its competitors for these types of items.

To get a better idea of what to expect this year, you can take a look at last year’s Amazon Black Friday ad.

Walmart Black Friday

After Amazon, the next biggest Black Friday sale you can expect is at Walmart. These discounts will be both in store and online, but the online savings should start a bit earlier. Walmart usually has some of the best deals on Apple devices like iPad and AirPods. You’ll usually also find some of the lowest prices of the year on Walmart-exclusive products like Onn electronics, select Vizio TVs, some gaming PC configurations (see: the recent GeForce sale), and certain home appliances.

In the past, Walmart has also had some great Nintendo Switch deals that Amazon wasn’t able to offer. We’d expect to see this again this year, most likely on newer Switch 2 games or Pokémon cards. Expect some of these discounts to be available early for Walmart+ members, which has been the case for other major sales this year.

In addition to popular tech and games, Walmart also tends to have deals on groceries, clothing, and toys. Walmart has been especially known to offer particularly good LEGO discounts, but stock tends to be fairly limited.

You can check out the full Walmart Black Friday ad from last year for more information.

Best Buy Black Friday

The Best Buy Black Friday sale is usually the best collection of tech deals during the holiday season. Many of these discounts will be price-matched by Amazon and Walmart, but it will still likely have all of the same Apple devices, TVs, and video games on sale as everywhere else. You can also likely expect some sort of video game console deal on the PS5/PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X. With the continued price increases, this could just mean getting a free Best Buy gift card with your purchase, but it will still be a better deal than paying full price with no additional benefits.

In addition to consoles, video games, and video game accessories, Best Buy also tends to be one of the best places to buy handheld gaming PCs and laptops. With the recent release of the ROG Xbox Ally X, Best Buy has been the only retailer to keep stock. You can likely expect price cuts on the previous generation ROG Ally devices at Best Buy this year, as well as other popular handhelds. We also expect competitive pricing around newer laptops with the latest 50-series GPUs.

For more information on what to expect, check out the Best Buy Black Friday ad from last year.

Target Black Friday

The Target Black Friday sale is usually pretty similar to Walmart’s Black Friday sale every year. Expect similar discounts on video games, toys, Apple products, and appliances that you’ll find everywhere else. Where Target tends to differentiate from competitors in its exclusives. The retailer has partnered with a bunch of different home brands and is usually the only place you’ll be able to buy those items at a discount during Black Friday shopping season. This makes it a great place to do your shopping if you’re planning on buying any decor upgrades for your home.

Target has also been consistently offering some unique discounts on select toys that Amazon hasn’t been able to price match. The most recent example is a LEGO sale on new 2025 sets. Amazon did match prices on a few of the sets, but not all of them. We’d expect this to happen on Black Friday too, so you’ll need to check prices between retailers on the more popular toy items.

For more information on what to expect this year, check out the Target Black Friday ad from last year.

Costco Black Friday

Costco is a bit of a wildcard during the Black Friday season. The Costco Black Friday sale will usually have some of the best deals anywhere, but it’s less consistent in what savings it offers each year. What we do know is that Costco always offers some steep discounts on furniture, jewelry, and electronics. The same discounts you find at Amazon for select TVs and video games will likely also be available at Costco. You can also expect steeper warehouse discounts, like on the Kirkland Signature jewelry or various furniture items that are only featured for a limited time.

In addition to things like toys, gifts, and household items, Costco usually has some pretty decent grocery deals during the holiday season. You can usually find these ahead of Thanksgiving on things like turkey, snacks, and various other items. You will still need to buy in bulk, but the stacked savings on top of that are usually worth it.

For more information on what to expect this year, check out the expansive Costco Black Friday ad from last year.

It may seem silly to start planning your Black Friday shopping right now, but doing so can help you save a lot of money when it comes time to actually start making purchases. Here are a few Black Friday tips that you should consider ahead of the event:

1. Set a Budget – Keeping track of how much money you can actually spend is important to avoid overspending. When everything is on sale, it can be easy to buy more than you really should just because things are at their lowest price of the year.
2. Create a Shopping List – Knowing exactly what you’re trying to find discounts on is a great way to avoid making unnecessary purchases. It can also make it easier for you to compare prices between retailers or set price drop alerts ahead of time.
3. Compare Prices – Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart make it really easy to do all of your shopping there. That being said, those retailers don’t always have the best price on the items you’re looking for. Make sure to compare prices across the web before you buy something for more than you have to.
4. Research Before You Buy – If you’re making an expensive purchase, make sure you do at least some research before you buy it. This means looking for independent reviews or testimony from trusted sources about those products. You shouldn’t necessarily trust Amazon reviews, for example.
5. Be Wary of Search Results and AI Summaries – Search platforms, such as Google, have a tendency to be flooded with sponsored links in the results as well as AI summaries that are potentially biased. Be careful to avoid clicking on a sponsored ad if you’re looking for reviews or searching for specific products by price.