Best Black Friday deals at Walmart, Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Kohl’s

Since Black Friday is a week later this year than it has been in the past few years, retailers are still hauling ass to get the word out about their best deals. Ad scans from all the major players are already out, and many of those players are using this extra time to put items at their Black Friday prices weeks ahead of the big day.

You’ll want to use that extra time to scour the ad scans to plan what you’ll be buying and which store has the best price on it.

SEE ALSO: What *not* to buy on Black Friday: Here’s what we’re passing on this year

But sitting down to read 40-something pages of sales (or 115 pages, if you’re Best Buy) is a task that no normal person has time for. We do, though, because it’s literally our job.

We’ve gone through ad scans from Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, and more and have pulled out the best deals on the tech, kitchen gadgets, and gaming stuff that we think you’ll care about. Our lurking is done with a purpose: Our friends at BestBlackFriday.com (basically a police scanner for Black Friday deals) have been dropping insight as to which items will see the most competitive price, which stores are winning that competition, and how prices compare to what was on sale last year.

Main shopping advice for Black Friday 2019

• Best place to buy AirPods: Walmart will have the second-generation AirPods with the regular (not wireless) charging case for $129. That’s only $30 off, but it’s generous compared to Target’s Black Friday price of $144.99 and beats the AirPods’ lowest on Amazon ever by $10. Amazon currently has the AirPods Pro for $14.02 off at $234.98, which is the only discount from a major retailer we’ve seen on these. Barring any last-minute price drops that we’re not aware of, these are the best deals you’re gonna get.

• Best place to buy a Nintendo Switch: It’s a toss up. Most retailers are sticking with the same $299 Mario Kart Deluxe 8 bundle from last year (aside from Kohl’s, which is offering a $319 bundle on a Switch plus a charging case). For standalone Switch games, Walmart has the best prices and the best selection with Super Mario Party on sale for $30 and Overwatch Legendary Edition on sale for $25.

• Best place to buy an Xbox: Best Buy’s listing for the Xbox One X 1TB console with Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is the best deal due to the three free months of Xbox Live (a $25 value) that comes with the $349 purchase. Otherwise, most other Xbox One X bundles are going for $349 while the Xbox One S is going for $149.

• Best place to buy a PS4: Walmart’s deal that includes the PS4 Slim 1TB console with The Last of Us: Remastered and digital downloads for God of War and Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition all for $199 is going to be hard to beat. 

• Best place to buy the Instant Pot: Walmart will have the 6-quart Instant Pot Duo and the 6-quart Instant Vortex air fryer on sale for $49, which will almost definitely beat what other stores are offering. Target has the best deal on the newer version of the Instant Pot Duo, the Instant Pot Duo Nova, for $64.95. Amazon tends to have wickedly low prices on other models (specifically the Ultra), so we’d check there, too.

• Best place to buy a vacuum: Macy’s is offering up to $200 off Dyson stick vacuums, which is more of a discount than we usually see with Dyson (for reference, Dyson’s big Labor Day sale only offered $100 off.) Macy’s also has the for $229, which is the cheapest we’ve seen that model by far.

• Best place to buy a TV: BestBlackFriday.com suggests that you wait until that ~big football game~ in February to cop a new TV, as retailers will be offering super low prices trying to hook anyone who decided to throw a watch party at the last minute. However, if you want your TV on Black Friday, Walmart will have the best deals on mid-size options while Best Buy seems to be focusing on TVs 65 inches and up and high-end QLED and OLED models.

Below are the best deals each retailer has to offer so that you can directly compare prices on those big-ticket items. For more shopping hacks (like how to be automatically updated when an item goes on sale), check out our Black Friday shopping tips.

Walmart‘s best deals? Tech and kitchen gadgets.

Walmart was the last major retailer to drop its (very cute and color-coded) Black Friday ad, but you’ll want to make sure to compare Walmart’s prices with ads you may have already scanned. Recently-released items like the 6-quart Instant Vortex air fryer and the 10.2-inch iPad are lower than we’ve ever seen them before.

Walmart will also have a ton of 4K TVs in every size from brands like Samsung, LG, and Vizio on sale, with the majority of deals focusing on mid-size TVs from 49 to 65 inches. We’ll save you the scrolling by not listing every single one, but this section will show you all the best TV deals Walmart has right now (including ones already on sale). TV savings are up to $1,000 off.

Check out Walmart’s full Black Friday 2019 ad here.

Amazon is pushing its own devices (and no one is surprised)

Amazon is a particular kind of beast on Black Friday. Besides the fact that there are no brick-and-mortar Amazon stores to physically shop in, it doesn’t release a full Black Friday ad like other stores do. If you’re in the market for Echo, Fire TV, Fire Tablet, Kindle, or Blink devices, Amazon did give an early heads up about some deals you can expect on Amazon devices in the days leading up to Black Friday. Since Nov. 1, Amazon has also been dropping extra daily lightning deals on its Holideals page.

2018’s Black Friday deals at Amazon can help us predict what will go on sale this year as soon as the clock strikes Thanksgiving. 

Amazon has sneakily been giving away $25 Amazon gift cards with the purchase of a Nintendo Switch, which is basically like saving $25 on the Switch. The last time we saw this was October 2019, but we’re hoping that Amazon gets into the holiday spirit and offers gift cards for Black Friday to give users an option that’s not the Mario Kart Nintendo Switch bundle.

Macy’s is the place to go for vacuums

Moving? Looking for a wedding gift? Need to gift your parents a new vacuum so they stop using that one from the 1990s? Macy’s has your home and kitchen needs covered for cheap.

There are also coupons for $10 off purchases over $25 and $25 off purchases over $50. Whether these will work on big-name doorbusters, we’re not sure — but if you also buy clothes and save money on your entire purchase, it’s still saving money. Mail-in rebates for free items like plush throw blankets, hand vacuums, or mini slow cookers are up for grabs, too.

One thing: Do not buy your Instant Pot here. Walmart’s ad scan price on the same Instant Vortex air fryer is $20 cheaper than Macy’s, and Walmart also already has the Ninja Foodi at the same price that Macy’s ad scan is advertising. Unless Macy’s decides to drop the device even lower in order to stay competitive, we’d suggest buying your Instant Pot elsewhere.

Check out Macy’s full Black Friday 2019 ad here.

Target is all about gift-worthy tech items

We’ve all experienced Target syndrome. While Target will always be that place that you impulsively buy random home decor, candles, and another plush blanket (which will all be on sale, BTW), the store is leveling up to be a tech go-to as well. 

This year, Target has a huge focus on TVs, gaming items, smart home, and headphones. While Walmart and Best Buy still have the better TV deals, Target’s generous addition of a free gift card tacked onto many purchases could indirectly get you a better deal on doorbusters than other tech giant stores. For instance, if you buy a quip toothbrush, you’ll get a $10 gift card. You can use that $10 in a second transaction for the Nintendo Switch Mario Kart bundle and get it for $289 instead of everyone other store’s $299.

Check out Target’s full Black Friday 2019 ad here.

Best Buy: If you must buy a TV, do it here

People are buying bigger TVs and Best Buy is listening. Instead of grabbing the cheapest TV that fits on the TV stand they already have, at-home 4K streaming and voice commands has people splurging on elaborate home entertainment rigs. Best Buy will be one of the best places to cop a 65-inch or bigger 4K TV this year, especially high-end OLED or QLED models from Samsung, LG, and Sony. There are nearly 10 pages dedicated to TVs deals alone in Best Buy’s Black Friday ad (pages 7 to 14, to be exact) and some are already at their Black Friday price. Insignia and Toshiba 4K TVs even come with a free Echo Dot. In total, savings are up to $1,000 off. 

Entertainment junkies can also grab Bose and Vizio sound bars as well as the the Beats Studio3 headphones for $80 cheaper than Target’s Black Friday price. 

As always, Best Buy also has the best selection of laptops and monitors on sale including up to $200 off MacBook Pros and $350 off the new Microsoft Surface Pro 7.

Check out Best Buy’s full Black Friday 2019 ad here.

Kohl’s steps it up with gaming and kitchen deals 

Kohl’s 2019 Black Friday ad proves that it’s a force to be reckoned with, though it was once just a spot dedicated to deals on perfume and Lauren Conrad’s clothing line. (Sorry, but it’s true.) Xbox bundles and PS4 bundles are in line with prices from Walmart and Best Buy, and there’s a unique Nintendo Switch deal that offers a discount on the console plus a charging case.

Kohl’s stans who have a load of Kohl’s Cash to slash even more off these sale prices could find the best gaming deals of 2019 at Kohl’s. If you don’t have Kohl’s cash, these purchases get you up to $100 in Kohl’s cash to save money on anything else at Kohl’s in the future (which is kind of like a huge discount on the consoles, right?)

Check out Kohl’s full Black Friday 2019 ad here.

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Being able to prep this early is so appreciated, especially considering the fact that many stores have decided that they’ll be closed on Thanksgiving. This is due to online shopping taking over for the in-store experience, so we’ve seen this coming for years. But still, the list keeps getting longer. Big ones include Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Costco, Ikea, and Lowe’s, which means you’ll just have to flex those fingers and keep your credit cards warm. Online shopping has officially taken over.