Walmart, Target, and Best Buy are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Here you can get Black Friday deals online instead

This story is part of Christmas gift guide 2020, CNET’s gift choice with expert advice, reviews and recommendations for the latest tech gifts for you and your family.

While Black Friday used to mean ‘big sales the day after Thanksgiving’, now it means ‘a good deal in November’. That’s right this year more than ever, with Black Friday sales already taking place at Best Buy, Target, and (of course) Amazon. Plus, Walmart’s big sale kicks off today, Nov. 25, just before Thanksgiving.

What about those who prefer to shop in a brick-and-mortar store? To say the obvious, this is the worst year ever to participate COVID-1

9 Cases are spreading like wildfire: Keeping yourself out of the shops is especially important as the number of cases in the US continues to grow at an average of more than 173,000 cases per day in the past week. And while many stores are still open on Black Friday this year, Friday, November 27 – some of the biggest stores like Walmart and Target will stay closed on Thanksgiving night.

Here are the deals you can buy online anytime, including Thanksgiving.

What time do the shops open on Black Friday?

Again, we strongly recommend that you make all your purchases online this year. But a good exception to this is the sidewalk pickup that most of these stores offer. To this end, here are the national opening hours on Black Friday. Please note that individual store hours may vary by state and region.