Get a Head Start on Holiday Shopping With These October Sales

2 months ago 19

Black Friday may get all the media attention, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait until November to score great deals. If you’d like to get a head start on holiday shopping, there are plenty of sales to pounce on in October.

And these aren’t measly events, either. Four major retailers will offer a time of store-wide bargains this month: Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days (its second Prime Day event of the year), Target’s Circle Week (its third and final one of the year), the Walmart Deals event (its second of the year) and Best Buy’s 48-Hour Flash Sale. What sorts of price drops will these savings events bring? Read on for key details and dates.

Best (Pre) Pre-Black Friday Sales to Shop This October

Target Circle Week	Amazon Prime Big Deal Days	Best Buy 48-Hour Flash Sale	Walmart Holiday Deals Event
Oct. 6 – 12	Oct. 8 – 9	Oct. 8 – 9	Oct. 8 – 13

Who knows? This year, we might roll into Halloween with all our Christmas gifts already bought and wrapped. (We can dream, right?)

Target Circle Week

Target’s seasonal Circle Week is a great time to snatch up low-priced holiday items in-store and online. This year, customers can expect to see 50% more holiday products. So watch out for deals on stocking stuffers, seasonal decor, gifts, and holiday food and beverage assortments. The seven days of sales are exclusive to Target Circle members, but it’s easy enough to sign up for this free loyalty program at Target.com or on the Target app.

What will be on sale:

Prices will also be cut in several other departments. Here are some highlights:

Toys from Disney, LEGO, and FAO Schwarz. (Over half of Target’s holiday toys will cost less than $20.)
Beauty gift sets from Papatui, Being Frenshe and fine’ry.
New food and beverage gift sets from Marks & Spencer.
Various “Wicked”-related items.
New Bullseye shopping sections with Target-brand gifts (most cost under $25).

Each day of Target Circle Week will also feature daily deals, which will then return on Nov. 1 and continue throughout the rest of the season.

Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days

For the third year in a row, Amazon is kicking off the gift-buying season with its Prime Big Deal Days event, beginning at 12:01 a.m. PDT. As the name implies, it’s exclusively for Amazon Prime members, but anyone can participate by signing up for a free 30-day trial. Throughout the 48-hour event, new deals will drop as often as every five minutes throughout the site and across departments, including home, electronics, fashion and beauty, toys, kitchen and Amazon devices.

What will be on sale:

Here are some specific sales you can expect:

Toys from Barbie, Squishmallows, Play-Doh, and Disney.
Beauty products from Clinique and Too Faced.
Fashion from Florence by Mills, Cider, and Aéropostale.
Home decor from NEST New York, Lenox, and Lodge.

Need a gift right now? There are some select deals already available ahead of the event.

Best Buy’s 48-Hour Flash Sale

Amazon’s Prime Day events always invite competition, and Best Buy has once again stepped up to the plate. The consumer electronics retailer is having a 48-Hour Flash Sale at the same time as Amazon’s Big Deal Days. So, before you click “buy” on a TV, gaming device, laptop, monitor or other tech gadget at Amazon, check the price in-store or online at Best Buy—which just might beat it. And you don’t have to be a store loyalty member for the discount. (Best Buy has its own exclusive member sale in September.)

What will be on sale:

A few other sales and special events will pop up at Best Buy this month. Here are some highlights:

Apple Trade-Up Event, Sept. 30 – Oct. 13

Turn in your old Apple Watch, iPhone, MacBook, iPad or iMac, and you can get a discount on a newer version. If you’re a member of its paid loyalty programs (My Best Buy Plus or My Best Buy Total), you can get 10% more back on certain Apple trade-ins.

Prep for the Holidays Event, starting Oct. 21

Best Buy’s holiday shopping deals start during the third week of October so that you can shop early for price cuts on appliances, smart home devices and other consumer electronics.

3-Day Gaming Event, starting Oct. 25

During the last weekend of October, you can stock up on gaming consoles, software and accessories at reduced prices. This special sale is a promotion to celebrate the release of the game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Get 4% Cash Back on Best Buy Purchases

Walmart Holiday Deals Event

Not to be outdone by Amazon, on Oct. 8, Walmart will kick off its own event, Walmart Holiday Deals—a time to shop thousands of sales throughout the store. You’ll see prices slashed across all departments, including holiday items, home, fashion, beauty, electronics and toys.

Popular products tend to sell out fast during these limited-time sales, so you do want to jump in early. This is a moment when it pays to be a Walmart+ member because you’ll get access 12 hours before everyone else.

Here’s how it works: For Walmart+ members, the event begins online (at Walmart.com or the Walmart app) on Oct. 8 at 12 a.m. ET. Everyone else can start scoring online deals at 12 p.m. ET. To avoid paying for shipping, you can use the retailer’s free ship-to-store program and pick up your purchases at your local Walmart. The next day (Oct. 9), the event will launch in stores for all customers.

What will be on sale:

This is an excellent moment to take advantage of Walmart’s rivalry with Amazon because each store hopes to attract you with the lowest prices. Think of brands like LEGO, BISSELL, and Apple. Here are some of the items that we know will be discounted: