In some ways, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the calm before the storm. Many shoppers and deal-seekers are getting ready for Black Friday sales, which includes one of the biggest retailers – Walmart.
Because Walmart’s Black Friday deals begin Thursday, preparations for the day of sales, are already in full swing.
According to David Saldana, the Store Manager at the Walmart located on Saratoga, staff have been preparing for one of the busiest shopping days of the year for nearly two months.
“We’ve been preparing because of the safety, what we need for that event [Black Friday deals], where are we going to place that event and what the coverage is going to be,” Saldana said.
This year, the retailer is offering some new tools to enhance the Black Friday shopping experience. New this year, customers can use the Walmart App to find the location of the product they’re looking to buy.
Bonnie Schulla, a Walmart customer and Black Friday shopper, approves of the new shopping experience.
“It makes it so much easier than any other stores,” Schulla said.
Schulla was at the store on Wednesday morning to make her last minute-preparations ahead of the sales.
“We’re checking out where the spots are going to be at so I can go straight to them,” Schulla said.
To make finding those deals and products easier, Walmart staff have been clearing out space on the store floor. They’ve also been pricing their products, and making sure they’re ready to be placed in the correct location according to the map.
“We’re already locating where we’re going to put the merchandise, for the customers to easily find the merchandise,” Saldana said.
For the past two weeks, Walmart staff have also been training for a new service called ‘Check Out With Me!’ It allows customers to pay for their items anywhere in the store, with a card or Walmart Pay, but not cash.
“I like it because it helps those customers if they want to buy just a couple of items,” Derek Perez said, a Walmart employee. “They don’t want to wait in line, then we can just check them out.”
Walmart says all their efforts and preparations are getting the retailer ready for the deals they’re offering and the crowds they’re expecting.
By the way, Walmart sales begin at 6 p.m. Thursday evening. However, Walmart stores will be operating on regular hours. So Black Friday shoppers could expect to see large crowds before the sales begin.
