what time does walmart open on black friday

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what time does walmart open on black friday

Supercenters are open 24/7 every day but Christmas but they don't cut the pallets open until 6 am. Usually people crowd around them and they have no idea what's inside until they cut them open so if you're looking for something specific it's best if you go with a group and each take a different pallet to cover. Otherwise you might not get what you came for. One last note, just because a pallet is placed in front of electronics doesn't mean that's what is actually on it. They are black-taped up at the wharehouse and no one, not even associates, know what's on each pallet.

Regular WM stores open at 5 on black Friday.

The most significant change at Wal-Mart is that the majority of its discount stores (as opposed to its Supercenters) will open Thanksgiving morning at 6 a.m. and stay open through Friday evening. Last year, those stores closed Thanksgiving evening and reopened early Friday morning. By keeping the stores open for 24 hours, Wal-Mart is hoping for a steady flow of shoppers instead of mammoth crowds swelling outside its stores in the wee hours of Friday.

In another new twist this year, shoppers at Wal-Mart will not have to sprint toward a pile of flat-screen televisions and scuffle with one another to get one. Rather, customers will be able to enter the store at any time and line up at merchandise displays for the must-have items on their lists. When the products go on sale Friday at 5 a.m., workers will supervise the lines, giving shoppers the merchandise in the order in which they joined the line - until the goods are out of stock.

(Only a small percentage of stores will not be open 24 hours; most Wal-Mart Supercenters are already open 24 hours.)

Another problem in the past was the bottleneck at store entrances. Like many big-box retailers, Wal-Mart does not have multiple entrances and exits to spread around customer traffic. So, this year, the chain will put workers in front of its stores to direct customers and keep them moving.

"We are committed to looking for ways to make our stores even safer for our customers and associates this holiday season," said David Tovar, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, adding that the retailer was "confident our customers can look forward to a safe and enjoyable shopping experience at Wal-Mart."

Aggressive shoppers are common the day after Thanksgiving. So crowd control plans, which vary by retailer, are critical. And they are especially important now, given the economy. Newly frugal consumers want more for less, and stores plan to drum up sales with stunning deals.

This year, for the first time, the National Retail Federation created a comprehensive set of guidelines for crowd control at stores. The guidelines note that special markdowns and historically low discounts have led to larger crowds.

"Retailers are very much trying to make themselves stand out in an environment like this," Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman for the industry group, said in a recent conference call. But she added that "retailers need to understand that many of these sales and promotional periods might draw customers who are more insistent about getting a good deal."

The federation said retailers were performing dress rehearsals with their employees. Some stores plan to serve drinks to shoppers or offer entertainment while they are in line, to maintain calm. Also, the stores say that creating a rapport with customers makes news of sellouts and long lines more palatable.

Indeed, Peter Conway, general manager of a Best Buy in Westbury, N.Y., has made a habit of arriving at his store at 7 p.m. Thanksgiving night to chat with shoppers lined up outside.

"I'm outside talking with my customers, just getting to know them, seeing what they're there for," he said. "I'm very clear with them: 'There's not going to be any running.'"

For years, Best Buy has controlled crowds by sending teams of workers into the parking lots to dole out tickets for its so-called door-busters - hot items like digital cameras and laptops at exceedingly low prices. Tickets are given out about 3 a.m. and each customer is allowed one ticket for each door-buster item they intend to buy.

"They know if they have a ticket, they're guaranteed they have that product," Conway said. "It creates ease of mind."

To keep shoppers from running aimlessly around its stores, Best Buy employees hand out maps, and they mark popular items with colored balloons that can be seen from anywhere in the store.

Many retailers, including Kohl's and Toys "R" Us, said they were not changing their crowd management plans because they had not had problems.

After the death of Damour, Wal-Mart settled a case with the district attorney of Nassau County in New York. Wal-Mart agreed to create a $400,000 compensation fund, give $1.5 million to social service programs, and offer 50 jobs to area high school students each year for three years.