Walmart Black Friday 2024: Schedule, list of deals, and what’s new this year—including an AI shopping assistant

For deal-seekers everywhere, it’s already that time again: Walmart has just announced plans for its 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, and they come with an extra AI boost this year.

In a press release this morning, the retailer gave customers a first look at what to expect during holiday shopping, including dates, special deals, and plans to test an AI-powered shopping assistant.

Here’s everything you need to know about Walmart’s Black Friday events.

When do Walmart’s Black Friday deals start?

The deals are organized into three phases this year. The first Black Friday event will start online on Monday, November 11. Walmart+ members (those who pay for the retailer’s subscription tier) will get first access to the deals at 12 p.m. ET, followed by 5 p.m. ET for all other customers. Reduced prices will hit shelves in stores on Friday, November 15 at 6 a.m. local time.

The second event will begin online on Monday, November 25. Its timing will work identically to that of the first event, with in-store discounts starting on the actual day of Black Friday, November 29.

For those who have enough stamina for another round of shopping, Walmart’s Cyber Monday event will kick off online on Sunday, December 1 at 5 p.m. ET for Walmart+ members and 8 p.m. ET for all customers.

What’s included in Walmart’s Black Friday sale?

In the press release, Walmart revealed a shortlist of the top deals for its first event. Among other things, these include:

• $199 iPhone 13
• $398 65-inch Samsung DU69 4K Smart TV
• $399.99 Dyson V12 Detect Slim Cordless Vacuum Cleaner

See the full list here.

What’s new for Walmart’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events this year?

This year’s shopping experience will look a bit different, thanks to Walmart’s increased investments in its suite of AI tech.

First, the company plans to implement a more personalized version of its existing customer support chatbot. Now, the software will “recognize who the customer is right from the start and [go] beyond just understanding the customer’s intent to taking actions, like finding orders and managing returns,” according to the press release.

Second, Walmart will be trying out a brand-new feature on a wider scale. During Black Friday, the company plans to expand beta testing of its AI-powered shopping assistant, a chatbot that goes beyond handling basic tasks like returns to actually guiding users through the shopping process.

Per an earlier announcement of the tool, customers will be able to ask the assistant questions like, “Which TV is best for watching soccer?” to quickly receive applicable suggestions. In the future, Walmart plans to train the assistant to respond with specific follow-ups, like “How is the lighting in the room where you’ll place the TV?”

Essentially, it’s a similar interface to ChatGPT tailored specifically for Walmart shoppers. The full product roll-out won’t be available to all customers on Black Friday, but it’s likely that Walmart will use the influx of beta testing data during the holiday to improve the tool.

Walmart is also currently in the process of using gen AI to personalize users’ homepages based on their purchase history, which could feature heavily by next year’s holiday season.

“Walmart has developed a Content Decision Platform, which uses AI to understand the customer and GenAI to predict the type of content they’d like to see on the site,” a spokesperson told Fast Company in an email.

“For example, a customer who recently purchased Halloween decorations is likely to see Holiday decorations, whereas someone who recently searched for cleaning appliances may see vacuum deals for Black Friday,” the spokesperson added. “This technology is currently being used within select areas of Walmart.com and will be utilized to create a unique homepage for each shopper, an experience that is expected to launch in the U.S. by the end of next year.”