Walmart's Black Friday season started this morning. The retailer's Early Black Friday event opened online at 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday, November 12, and in stores at 6 a.m. local time, and it runs through Sunday, November 15. It is the first of three holiday sale events Walmart is running this year, and the one with the deepest early discounts on toys, tech and home goods.
The timing matters more than it looks. Walmart+ members get a 24-hour head start on select online-only “hot Deal drops” — those opened to members at 12:01 a.m. ET today, while everyone else has to wait until 12:01 a.m. ET on Friday, November 13, for whatever is left. If the item you want is one of the hot drops, the sale is effectively a members-only event for its first day.
The Confirmed Deals Worth Your Time
Apple gear leads the tech list. AirPods Pro 3 are $199, down from $249. A 13-inch M5 MacBook Air with 16GB of memory and 1TB of storage is $1,349, down from $1,599 — a $250 cut. The M6 Mac mini is $780, down from $899. Apple Watch Series 11 starts at $524, down from $749, and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is nearly $100 off. AirTag 2 is $23, down from $29, which matches its all-time low.
The biggest single saving is on televisions. The LG 65-inch C6 OLED 4K smart TV is listed at $1,399.99, down from $2,699.99 — almost half price. That is the kind of doorbuster price that usually disappears first, and it is exactly the sort of item the Walmart+ head start is designed to protect for members.
Toys are where the discounts run deepest. Walmart is advertising up to 55% off toys, and the confirmed prices back that up. Two NeeDoh sets — the Sensory Sampler and the Stack Pack Variety — are both listed at $15, down from $34.97 and $24.97. Both were already showing as out of stock when deal trackers checked on November 11, which tells you how fast the popular toy deals move. The Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection, Day and Night, is listed at $224.97, and Walmart is running a collectibles drawing on Thursday, November 12, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. CST, with several Pokémon 30th Celebration items on the list.
Discounts By Department
Here is the shape of the sale, department by department. Toys are up to 55% off. Home appliances and floor care are up to 40% off. Sports and outdoors are up to 35% off. Holiday items are up to 30% off. Beauty is up to 20% off, and tech is up to 15% off. Walmart also says there are thousands of gifts under $20, and its Top Toys list includes 25 toys priced under $25.
Home deals confirmed so far include a TrueHue towel set for $10, a Serta Simply Soft four-piece bed sheet set for $12, a Cozy Haven lush plush throw for $15, a Dirt Devil compact vacuum for $37, and a BISSELL PowerForce Pet XL upright deep cleaner for $98. An ASUS 27-inch gaming monitor is listed at $129.
The Three Events, And The Fine Print
This is only event one. Walmart's second Black Friday event runs November 23 to 29, with online deals opening November 23 at 12:01 a.m. ET and stores opening at 6 a.m. on Black Friday itself, November 27. The Cyber Monday event runs November 30 to December 2. The same Walmart+ 24-hour head start applies to the hot drops in the second event.
A few practical notes before you shop. Prices and stock can change quickly — several of the prices above were confirmed on November 11, before the sale opened, and popular items sell out. Always confirm the live price on the product page before you check out. Shipping is free for Walmart+ members and on orders of $35 or more; otherwise it adds $6.99. And if you are shopping in a store, remember the doors opened at 6 a.m. local time today, not midnight.
If the item you want is already gone, do not give up on the sale. The hot Deal drops that sold out to members today reopen to everyone on Friday, November 13, at 12:01 a.m. ET — but only whatever stock remains, and the most popular items rarely survive the members-only window. The NeeDoh sets are the warning sign: both were already showing as out of stock on November 11, before the sale even opened. If a toy or a TV is the reason you are shopping, check the listing first thing in the morning, and have a backup pick ready in case the first choice is gone.
One more thing worth knowing: Walmart is not the only retailer already moving. Amazon's Black Friday sale starts November 19, and Best Buy is already into the second week of its November sale events. Walmart simply got there first this year — and for the next four days, its early prices are the ones to beat.
