Walmart is offering up a year of its paid Walmart+ membership for $49, or roughly half the price, to new members for a promotion that started on Nov. 1 and goes through Nov. 3.
Walmart tied the discount to its November holiday sale, which the retailer has dubbed “Black Friday Deals for Days.”
The sale event, set to start Nov. 7, joins those of Amazon, Target, Kohl’s and Walmart’s own October sale, among others that are aimed at luring shoppers early.
Pre-Black Friday shopping and the attendant promotions from retailers have become a feature of the holiday season since the pandemic began. Retailers are also hoping the early promotions will help keep inventory moving in a year of overages.
This year, Amazon’s October sale for its Prime members was estimated to have fallen short of its July Prime Day event while still raking in billions for the company and potentially helping to clear out leftover inventory.
Similar to Amazon’s event, Walmart is offering its Walmart+ members early access to deals on electronics, toys and other items.
Walmart launched the membership in 2020 with free shipping as its central offer, and it has been adding perks to it since that time. Most recently it has tied a streaming service to it through a partnership with Paramount, as well as a rewards program that can deepen customer discounts. The retailer also added free Spotify to members this year through a tie-up with the streaming giant.
On Walmart’s most recent earnings call, executives noted that Walmart+ memberships continue to grow, though they did not specify a number.
