Walmart Holiday Deals 2019 With Free Next-Day Delivery, New Features Starts Friday

Retailing giant Walmart will start its Christmas holiday shopping season quite early on Oct 25 and online holiday deals starting at Friday midnight Eastern Time.

The “Early Deals Drop” stores will make the conversion to Christmas after Halloween which is on Oct 31. That is the time Halloween costumes are in high demand.

For the holiday deals, shoppers can visit the Walmart website and find deals on electronics, home goods, sporting accessories, and toys.

Steve Bratspies, the chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S., said it was the earliest start ever, considering the shorter shopping season ahead. This year the shopping days will be fewer by six, between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Important deals

Some seductive deals include $25 off a BouncePro 7-Foot My First Trampoline, $30 off the Farberware 3.2 Quart Digital Oil-Less Fryer, and $100 off a VIZIO 55-inch Class M-Series Quantum 4K Ultra HDR Smart TV. The retailer says new deals will stay throughout the shopping season.

Walmart said it would help consumers get an early start for purchasing gifts with expanded services, exclusive toys, and events including visits from Santa.

“We’re going to offer more savings, more ways to shop, more gifts to shop for and more fun in our stores than ever before," said Bratspies, who is also Walmart U.S executive vice president during a call with reporters.

More holiday decor and items will be available in stores after Halloween, Bratspies said.

“It’s all to make the shopping experience easy, the prices low and holiday season the happiest one yet for our customers,” the CMO said.

The holiday season is the super business time for the retail industry and stores are on a race to snatch every last customer offering the best shopping experience convenient, simple and fastest.

According to Bratspies, Walmart is making the shopping experience easier and tech-enabled. Highlights include free NextDay delivery and expanded Check Out With Me, which allows shoppers to skip long lines and check out with an associate where they are shopping.

What makes Walmart special is that this will be the first holiday season where the retail giant will offer next day free delivery on orders above $35 for thousands of items including electronics and toys without a membership fee.

This beats Amazon as Amazon Prime next-day shipping costs $119 a year.

Free shipping is the deal clincher

A study by Deloitte also said free shipping is the key to holiday sales. It said good deals especially around Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping occasions earn more if backed by delivery deals.

The study found 80 percent of people saying promotions will influence purchase decisions this holiday season. Free shipping is the most important component in choosing a vendor than fast shipping. In the survey, 85 percent said they want free shipping.