Stores opening hours on Black Friday: Walmart, Target, Gamestop, Best Buy and more

Over the past decade, Black Friday has changed in dramatic ways. In the 1990s and early 2000s, after Thanksgiving dinner, thousands of people would head to major retailers at the crack of dawn to obtain major discounts on televisions, phones, clothes, and more. Stories of stampedes and fights over limited items were extremely common.

However, as more consumers have moved online, many businesses have extended their deals to their e-marketplace and are offering weeks of discounts in the lead up. By extending the amount of time, stores can increase the supply they can provide to customers.

If they were limited to just one day, they would be limiting their sales, because of the logistical challenges limiting supply for all sorts of goods globally.

We take a look at the opening hours for some of the most popular destinations on Black Friday...

Best Buy

Best Buy was hit hard by the pandemic and was closed forty locations and lay off 5,000 workers. This is also partly due to customers opting to purchase technological products online, rather than visiting a brick and mortar store.

However on Black Friday, in a bid to boost sale, most Best Buy locations will open at 5am and close at 10pm.

Will Best Buy be open on Thanksgiving?

No, Best Buy has said that “Best Buy retail stores will not be open on Thanksgiving Day.” However, those who prefer online shopping can still take advantage of the Black Friday deals on their website.

GameStop

Gaming retailer GameStop has become known for its $299 Black Friday console deals and this year is no different. You can pick up a Nintendo Switch and Mario Kart 8 console bundle for just under 300 bucks, and they are many other great deals going live.

Gamestop will open its doors at 5am to Black Friday customers.

Will GameStop be open on Thanksgiving?

GameStop locations will not be open on Thanksgiving.

Target

Target launched its first wave of Black Friday sales back in October, although these were online-only discounts initially. But as the big (shopping) day approaches, expect that the in-store and online prices will be the same.

Target will open its doors to shoppers at 7am on Black Friday and will close at 10pm.

Will Target be open on Thanksgiving?

All Target stores will be closed for Thanksgiving.

Walmart

Throughout November Walmart has been running a series of sales events with early access to store card members. However most of the Black Friday deals will be made available to shoppers on Black Friday, with a number of great discounts.

Like Target, Walmart will open its doors at 5am on Black Friday.

Will Walmart be open on Thanksgiving?

Walmart is another major store that will be closing its doors to the public on Thanksgiving.