Forget Black Friday, Cyber Monday is the new shopping holiday you should be anticipating for.
As reported by USA Today, as a part of the growing trend to start holiday sales earlier, retailing giant Walmart has announced that it will begin its Cyber Monday sale the Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend.
Cyber Monday in a Sunday? Yes please. The first round of deals will begin at 8:00 pm, Eastern Time on Sunday and it is part of "Cyber Week" that starts on Saturday Nov. 28 and runs throughout the week until Dec. 4.
According to Walmart CEO and President Fernando Medeira, "Now that the Internet is everywhere with smartphones and broadband connections "it doesn't make any sense to stay awake just to have access to the early, best special deals during Cyber Monday,"
Medeira then said that another reason for making it a day early is that it can be exhausting for working parents and millennials to stay up past midnight to shop online, only for them to wake-up early the next day to get ready for work.
He reiterated, "By starting 'Cyber Monday' hours earlier on Sunday evening and quadrupling the number of Cyber Monday specials, we're making it easier for customers to get ahead of the busiest online shopping day of the year and save on the best gifts."
He added, "That's why we decided to start earlier this year on Sunday." Medeira also attributed the early start of the sale in part to the rise in search terms for Cyber Monday.
Shoppers are surely going to have a blast picking up the best shopping deals. And although Walmart have not specifically specified the deals included on the sale, some early notable deals include a 48-inch Samsung 4K TV for $598, an Xbox One with an additional wired controller for $299.96, a 65-inch LG 4K TV for $799 and a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet for $599.
In a similar report by Detroit Free Press, Walmart also said that it will bring back its "Evening Edition" of Cyber Monday to give parents who's working, another opportunity to grab some online deals. The retailer also said that free shipping to homes of consumers is available on orders over $50 and free shipping to Walmart stores is available many items.
With Walmart making its shopping sales a bit early and a bit longer, Forrester retail analyst Sucharita Mulpura said after last year's shopping days, he noted that the boundaries of such shopping events could blur, since Black Friday is gradually becoming "irrelevant."
According to CNET, apart from Walmart, even Amazon also now has its own sales event called "Prime Day."
This year, Walmart is quadrupling the number of Cyber Monday specials, with the biggest markdowns ranging between $200 and $500.
