Walmart's holiday deals will start Nov. 1

Walmart is aiming to be the best on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the rest of the holidays this year. 

Black Friday favorite Walmart outlined some of its holiday plans this morning, and one thing is clear – they're playing to win.

“I can’t remember another year when I’ve been this excited about the merchandise we are offering customers,” said Steve Bratspies, chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S. “It’s not just about one category or one item. Our whole store is going to be stocked with new, exciting items from hot toys to new electronics available at the best prices. We will win the season on price, from the first weekend in November to Black Friday and Cyber Monday and through those final weeks in December.”

This "win the season" talk should surprise no one since Walmart has used almost exactly that same phrasing for the last few years. They're also probably the only retailer that can credibly make such an audacious claim.

That's not to say that other major players like Target and Best Buy won't be competitive, but let's face it – just about everyone is following Walmart's lead.

So what are their plans exactly? Digging into this morning's announcement, we found it light on actual details. Here's what we know:

• You can get a 32-inch Roku HDTV for $125 throughout November and December. That also happens to be its Black Friday price from last year. We're going to speculate it might be marked down even further for Black Friday 2016.
• They cited "thousands of new rollbacks" but didn't call out anything specific other than the Roku TV.
• Walmart is expanding in-store pickup to include more items. They'll also have staff dedicated to managing in-store pickup throughout the holiday season.
• They're hiring Holiday Helpers – employees in yellow vests and elf hats – who can do things like point you to the shortest line or run and grab something you forgot while you stay in line. They might also give you a candy cane.

They also called out a Walmart-exclusive 24V Disney Princess Carriage Ride-On, but with a price tag of $398 it's hard to call it a deal unless it gets the Black Friday rollback treatment.

And that's about it. There's a cheap TV, vague pronouncements about more rollbacks, you'll have better luck with in-store pickup, and an elf might give you a candy cane.

We expect to see more details from Walmart in November, and we expect to see the Walmart Black Friday ad closer to November 10-11. Until then, check out our Walmart Black Friday predictions and catch the latest news in our Black Friday guide.

This article first appeared in Brad's Deals.