Best Black Friday Deals: Walmart vs. Target

Smart-shopping expert Trae Bodge recommends looking to the big boxes for a range of home electronics. “The best deals at the moment are on flat-screen TVs, laptops, smartphone accessories, i.e. earbuds and headphones, and gadgets for the home like robotic vacuums and Instant Pot-like cooking gadgets,” she says.

Runyan says the two chains are “highly competitive” on Black Friday electronics deals. She gives Walmart the edge for computers, while Target “emphasizes ‘prestige’ tech, like Beats headphones, a little more."

Walmart tends to drop prices faster and farther for iPads or Apple Watches, “leaving competitors rushing to match,” says Nathan Burrow, deals editor for product-rating site Wirecutter. “The pricing eventually equalizes, but it's not uncommon to be able to grab Apple stuff at the best prices sooner at Walmart if you're worried about stock shortages.”

Experts rate the stores about even on home gadgets like Roombas, air fryers and pressure cookers but give Target higher marks for traditional housewares. Target historically has great Black Friday deals on bedding and bath linen, Burrow says, and it's “your best bet for selection and brands” if you're shopping for cookware, according to Runyan.

Other things to weigh between the big boxes:

• Both offer “excellent deals on iPhones and Android phones during Black Friday and Cyber Monday,” often with a store gift card thrown in, Burrow says, so one deciding factor could be “which retailer you'd rather get a gift card from.”
• Target's RedCard, available as a credit or debit card, gives holders an extra 5 percent off on all purchases, a potential tiebreaker if the two stores are offering similar deals on an item.
• Walmart has more than twice as many physical stores, so it may be more convenient for those who prefer to shop on-site or use curbside pickup for digital orders.
• Target offers price protection on Black Friday deals. You can qualify for a partial refund if you find the same item for less in a local print ad from a competing store within 14 days of purchase, or if Target lowers its own price before Christmas. Walmart's price match does not cover Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals and you have to claim it at the time of purchase.

What other retailers are offering for Black Friday

Several other major retailers, including Best Buy, Kohl's, Home Depot, Lowes and Amazon, are already offering “Black Friday/Cyber Monday-worthy deals,” Bodge says.

Best Buy kicked off holiday sales on Nov. 5, and Burrow says the electronics chain's 24-hour “Deal of the Day” discounts “come closer to approximating the doorbuster feel” than other retailers’ pre-Black Friday sales.

Skirboll lists Macy's among her top destinations for virtual Black Friday. The venerable department store launched its online sale Nov. 16 with “lots of deals on home, fashion, toys, electronics and kitchen appliances,” including big discounts on Instant Pot air fryers and Lazer jeans.

"Cyber Week will bring an extended time frame of deals, so start shopping as early as you can to avoid shipping and inventory delays,” Skirboll adds.

To keep up with the “dizzying number of deals,” Bodge recommends that “people sign up for the emails from their favorite retailers so they can stay in the loop,” and use third-party resources like the crowdsourced Black Friday page at slickdeals.net, which constantly updates its listings based on input from users.

"This page has up-to-the-minute intel on the top-voted deals from their community of over 12 million deal-seekers,” Bodge says. “I will be using this resource myself!"