 Walmart announces plans for Thanksgiving, Black Friday 
 
 By JOAN VERDON 
 
 STAFF WRITER | 
 
 The Record 
 
 Wal-Mart announced plans today to modernize and simplify its Black Friday routine, but it is sticking with one strategy that has become a tradition for the world's largest retailer — it is once again encouraging customers to shop on Thanksgiving. Buy this photo AP FILE PHOTO Wal-Mart 
 
 Wal-Mart will begin offering its Black Friday deals in its stores at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving,the same time as last year, and the same time that its top competitor, Target, will open its stores on the holiday. Wal-Mart's stores typically are open 24 hours, every day of the year, so they are open all day on Thanksgiving, but the retailer makes its special deals available starting at a specific time on Thanksgiving night. The company's plan, he said, "is to make Black Friday shopping easier for our customers." One of the reasons to put pants on and shop IRL at Walmart’s Black Friday event: As it’s done in years past, the store will again guarantee availability for select sale items (all electronics department stuff) to customers who come in-store to claim them during the first hour of the sale, between 6 and 7 p.m. In addition to eliminating the need to wait around for staggered deal offerings, Wal-Mart has pared the list of its guaranteed in-stock deal specials to five from nine, but it is promising to have more inventory in stock in general to make sure sale items are available. This year’s items guaranteed to be available: 
 
 iPad Air 2 in gold 16GB — $399 ($100 savings) 
 
 
 
 ($100 savings) Xbox One 500GB bundled with Gears of War game — $299 ($50 savings, includes $30 Walmart gift card) 
 
 game — ($50 savings, includes $30 Walmart gift card) Beats Studio headphones — $169 ($131 savings) 
 
 
 
 ($131 savings) HP 15-inch touch-screen laptop 500GB — $249 (special price) 
 
 
 
 (special price) LG 55-inch Smart 4K UHD TV — $698 ($300 savings) 
 
 
 
 Some other noteworthy techie treats in the sale: 
 
 PlayStation 4 bundled with Uncharted game — $299 ($50 savings) 
 
 
 
 game — ($50 savings) Roku 32-inch Smart HDTV — $125 (special buy) 
 
 
 
 (special buy) Samsung 60-inch 4K Ultra HDTV — $900 ($800 savings, online only) 
 
 ($800 savings, online only) Dell Black 15.6-inch Intel i3 laptop — $279 ($120 savings, online only) 
 
 ($120 savings, online only) Fitbit Flex wristband — $59 ($40 savings) 
 
 ($40 savings) Fitbit Charge HR heart rate and activity wristband — $119 ($30 savings) 
 
 
 
 ($30 savings) NBA2K16, Madden ’16 and FIFA ’16 for Xbox One — $27 each ($33 savings) 
 
 
 
 See the rest of the sale. The mobile app now lets users shop the Black Friday circular by clicking and then purchasing products directly from the ads. On Thursday, Walmart — the biggest player in the holiday sales game — announced its list of online and in-store Black Friday deals. Most major stores are opening at the same time as last year, ending the trend of rolling it earlier each year. Wal-Mart is encouraging online shopping by making all of its Black Friday deals available online on Thanksgiving morning, for the first time.
– Walmart is doing away with hourly doorbusters and will instead make all of its Black Friday deals available immediately at 6pm on Thanksgiving—the same time sales kicked off last year, reports NorthJersey.com. The company says its strategy will simplify holiday shopping, which can get a little crazy. All deals will also be available online beginning at 12:01am PST on Nov. 26. One promotion that's back from last year: Walmart's one-hour guarantee, meaning anyone lined up during the first hour in a specific spot will be guaranteed an iPad Air 2 for $399, Beats headphones for $169, an Xbox One for $300, an HP touch-screen laptop for $250, and a 55-inch LG TV for $698, per USA Today and Yahoo. Find more deals here.