A pandemic-era Black Friday will try to spread out shopping crowds

Walmart says it'll spread out its traditional one-day Black Friday deals over three weekends in November in an effort to reduce crowds in its stores during a pandemic, AP reports.

The big picture: The nation's largest retailer said more of its doorbuster deals will be reserved for online, as a way to steer shoppers away from its stores. Meanwhile, many stores are starting their holiday deals this month. For example, Amazon, which usually holds its annual Prime Day event in mid-July, delayed it to this week.