Wal-Mart Kicks Off Black Friday on Thursday

So what will you be doing around 5am on Friday? If you are like many Americans you will be already in line at Best Buy or Circuit City gobble up the latest in tech and electronic gadgets before they fly off the shelves and into Christmas wish lists for most shoppers because of the backlog in production. You will have read the sales advertisements all during the week touting the greatest sale on the planet and you will make your way to get the best bargains. But there is a secret that you may have missed. There is one company that is trying to turn Black Friday upside down this year and that is Wal-Mart.

The world's largest discount superstore and busiest place every single day of the year is kicking off its Black Friday rush on of all days Thanksgiving Day. No that does not mean you need to cancel your plans of watching the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday. All you have to do is visit Walmart.com on Thursday and you will be able to put your hands, at least your order in for their new sales bonanza. The entire Thursday sale will be online, allowing all Wal-Mart customers to remain at home on Thursday.

It is an interesting twist for Wal-Mart which has sometimes appeared pedestrian when it comes to trying something new or different. But this move may pay huge dividends for the Arkansas-based company that is trying to avoid another less than stellar holiday sales season. Another added benefit of the Thursday mad rush to get online will be the ability to see what Wal-Mart is calling secret in-store specials. Also there will be additional specials and discounts that have not been shown previously in circulars or through their other marketing efforts.

Regardless of what you are planning on doing on Thursday, how difficult will it be for you to make your way to your computer and check out Walmart.com? I know your belly will be filled with turkey and gravy, dressing and candied yams. So here is a smart way to do it. When you wake up on Thursday, before you sit down, simply check out what is on sale and get your day started by saving money.

At the same time it is a way for Wal-Mart to get a jump on holiday sales which have lacked a bit of buzz the last few years as retailers have faced a mountain of websites for the consumer dollar. Very few companies can compete with Wal-Mart on price. So effectively what Wal-Mart is doing on Thursday is making a bold statement that it is about to swallow the market by offering deals only it can offer. But what are those deals? Does anyone know?

Remember, back in October, Wal-Mart politely asked through a Washington DC law firm that ten websites avoid posting their circulars before the set post date. What this did was disallow its competitors from repricing before stores opened. This strategy worked the last three years or so as companies like Best Buy reset prices once they saw where Wal-Mart was marking their prices at. It is as if Wal-Mart sets the price for the entire industry and it knows this just like everyone else.

No wonder the world is setting their alarm clocks for some time after midnight on Thursday just to see what Wal-Mart has in store. Or online.