As Inflation Rages, Walmart Announces Month-Long Sales Event

Walmart is expanding its Black Friday deals for the entire month of November in a bid to get customers excited about shopping at a time when many are cutting back on spending.

The company will kick off the first of four “Black Friday Deals for Days“ events on its website Nov. 7, followed by three other week-long sales that culminate in its Cyber Monday promotion, according to a Wednesday (Oct. 19) press release.

“Our customers are counting on us more than ever to help them find the season’s best gifts,” Walmart U.S. Chief Merchandising Officer Charles Redfield said in the release, adding that the retailer challenges itself each year to refresh and deliver a holiday shopping experience that’s tailored to customers’ needs.

“Black Friday has evolved over the years from a single day to an entire season and is without a doubt the most anticipated shopping event of the year,” Redfield added.

That season seems to be starting earlier, as indicated by Walmart’s “Rollbacks and More” savings event last week. It joined its competitors Amazon and Target in promoting holiday deals and sales in what had once been the Columbus Day shopping period.

Read more: Walmart Joins Other Retailers in Early Holiday Sales

While the actual response and anticipation remains to be seen, a range of recent retail forecasts has projected the shopping season will be somewhat muted this year.

For example, last week Adobe Analytics predicted that online spending in the holiday shopping season would likely grow by just 2.5% this year, marking the lowest growth since the company began tracking this spending in 2015. It’s also possible that spending in certain categories could even drop.

The report stated that while consumers scrambled to buy goods last year out of concerns about supply chain issues, they’re likely to cut back on spending this year due to inflation.

Also last week, buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Affirm projected that while consumers would indeed start shopping earlier, they would seek out discounts and dial back spending on gifts for co-workers.

See more: Affirm Sees Holiday Shift to ‘Intentional Gifting’ and Lower Spending

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