Halloween may be weeks away, but the first weeks of October are the start of the all-important holiday shopping season. Amazon would love to make you think it’s the only retailer throwing a big Prime Day deal bonanza next week, but Walmart is kicking off its Holiday Deals event from Oct. 8 until Oct. 13 to jumpstart your gift shopping. From the smallest cell phone accessories to big-ticket items like Samsung TVs and MacBooks, there’s a deal on just about every product you could want or need.
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With still time to go until all of the deals go live, we’ve highlighted all of the best early deals so far. Keep in mind that some of the best offers may be limited in supply, so you might miss out on some top deals if you don’t act quickly. Don’t forget to check out the best early Prime Day deals available right now as well.
Walmart Holiday Deals: Our Favorites in Tech
Battery Life/Runtime 1,026 minutesWeight 2.8 poundsDisplay size/type 13-inch, 2560 x 1600 IPS LCDProcessor tested Apple M1 8‑coreGraphics tested Apple M1 7-core
This isn’t the latest model on the market, but this price makes it hard to pass up, and it’s CNET’s top pick for the best budget MacBook. It has an Apple M1 chip with an eight-core CPU and a seven-core GPU. It also sports 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and a long-lasting battery that can run for up to 18 hours between charges.
Although this deal is for a previous-gen pair, the Beats Solos are some of the best on-ear headphones on the market right now. The Solo 3 is equipped with Apple’s W1 chip, and boasts an impressive 40-hour battery life — although it lacks noise-canceling capabilities. Right now you can grab the black, red and rose gold variants on sale.
Walmart Holiday Deals: Kitchen and home appliances
The Dyson V8 Absolute cordless vacuum is a convenient cleaning solution. It transforms into a handheld, so it’s not limited to just carpets or floors. You can tackle a variety of surfaces, especially those hard-to-reach areas and tight spaces.
A huge discount has been applied to this robot vacuum from Onson, which is designed as a 2-in-1 mop combination for tackling everything from hard floors to pet hair.
Walmart Holiday Deals: Best for the backyard
This trampoline has an enclosure net ringed with RGB lights and can hold up to 800 pounds, letting your kids (or kids at heart) keep bouncing into the night.
This Greenworks leaf blower can help you get your yard ready for the winter. It comes with a 4.0Ah battery with an 80-minute runtime, and boasts power equivalent to a 28cc gas motor. It’s also significantly quite than a gas-powered blower.
Walmart Holiday Deals: Great toys and games
This 2,660 piece kit is the perfect holiday gift for the Harry Potter fanatic in your life. The finished model stands at 8.5 inches tall, and includes iconic sites like the Astronomy Tower and Great Hall.
Sony’s latest sequel in the God of War saga has just arrived on PC but can still be found on PlayStation 5 at a reduced rate. It picks up with Kratos and his son, Atreus, in the midst of Fimbulwinter as they prepare for the end of days — Ragnarok. This action-adventure is one of the best games on the platform and provides a fantastic climax to the Norse saga that began with God of War (2018).
When is Walmart’s Holiday Deals sale?
Walmart’s Holiday Deals event is set to begin on Oct. 8 with big savings available through Oct. 13. Walmart Plus members will get first dibs on the deals, with a 12-hour exclusivity window beginning at 12 p.m. ET on Oct. 8 for subscribers. The general public will be able to access other deals on Oct. 9, starting at 12 a.m. ET (or 6 a.m. in brick-and-mortar store locations).
What will be on sale during Walmart’s Holiday Deals sale?
Once the sale officially kicks off next week, you can expect discounts of up to 30% on tech, kitchen, power stations and select apparel. On top of this, many toys will receive a 40% price cut, candles will be dropped by 50%, floor care and beauty by 60% and a huge 70% decrease will be applied to luggage.
Do I need to be a Walmart Plus member to shop Walmart’s Holiday Deals sale?
No, you don’t have to be a Walmart Plus member to shop Walmart’s Holiday Deals sale. Paying subscribers do get to access the sale first with 12 hours of members-only shopping on Oct. 8. If you see a deal you really want, it may be worth signing up to ensure you can snag it before the masses.
Should I shop Walmart Holiday Deals or Amazon Prime Day?
Given the two events kick off on the same day, you might be wondering where is best to spend your money. The first consideration should be whether you have a Walmart Plus or Amazon Prime subscription as that is going to dictate access to some of the deals at least some of the time.
As part of the event, Walmart has confirmed that discounts will include 30% off tech, kitchen, power stations and select apparel, as well as up to 40% off toys, up to 50% off candles, up to 60% off floor care and beauty and up to 70% off luggage. If those categories appeal to you, it’s going to be worth at least perusing Walmart’s sales to find some bargains.
Walmart’s sale also continues for a little while after Amazon’s October Prime Day wraps up (on Oct. 9) so you can use Walmart’s sale as a backstop should you miss out on anything during Amazon’s sale.
We’ll be highlighting the best deals from all the year’s biggest sales, so keep an eye on CNET.com/deals and the CNET Deals account on X for all the latest updates.