Big Retailers Are Not Waiting. Neither Should You.
Black Friday isn’t a weekend anymore. It isn’t a single day. It has become an entire season, and that season has already started, regardless of whether your business is ready. While some small brands are still planning to “launch after Thanksgiving,” major retailers have already flooded the market with early deals, claiming customer attention long before the traditional rush begins.
One of the clearest examples is happening in Southern California, where Mattel has rolled out a full-scale Holiday Tent Sale. The brand behind Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price set up a massive shopping compound in the South Bay region, offering up to 70 percent off weeks before Thanksgiving. Their messaging reads like a countdown to a festival: “Holiday savings start now,” “Tent Sale Now Thru December,” and “Early Access Event.” This isn’t a small pop-in promotion. It is a private shopping camp designed to bring families in early, encourage them to purchase before the rush, and secure spending before any competitor has the chance.
Mattel’s approach signals a larger shift across retail. They are not launching early because it is trendy or convenient. They are doing it because early shoppers are real, highly motivated, and ready to commit their holiday budgets to whoever shows up first. By opening their tent event in El Segundo and Gardena well before Thanksgiving, Mattel funnels traffic on their schedule, controls customer flow, and locks in revenue long before other retailers have even announced their promotions. When parents purchase Barbie, Monster High, or Hot Wheels in October or early November at deep discounts, those dollars are no longer available three weeks later. Major brands understand this, and they are training consumers to shop earlier every year.
A tent sale also creates emotional urgency. It feels exclusive, limited, and event-driven in a way a standard Black Friday email never can. The model builds momentum without relying on the calendar, and once consumers adapt to early-season shopping, the habit rarely disappears.
For women who build, scale, and sell, the implications are clear. When big brands activate early, smaller brands cannot afford to wait. Holiday spending begins the moment shoppers see their first major promotion, and many consumers are already mentally dividing their budgets long before Thanksgiving arrives. If your business is silent while large retailers are aggressive, you risk losing your customer before you ever enter the conversation. Early visibility puts you in front of shoppers while their attention is still open and the market is not yet oversaturated. Acting early also gives your business more runway — more days to test offers, refine messaging, retarget customers, and adjust your strategy before the peak rush.
This is where intention becomes strategy. You don’t need a tent sale or a massive footprint. You simply need to start. Position your early launch as a seasonal kickoff, a founder-first access moment, or an exclusive early holiday preview. Create an offer that feels special enough to move customers now rather than later. Build urgency through experience, whether that means a limited-time virtual pop-up, a special code, or a curated set of best sellers. Mattel used a tent, but what truly works is exclusivity, clarity, and timing.
When you capture your customers early, you secure their spend before the rest of the market overwhelms them with noise. Mattel has already pitched its tent. Walmart is already live. Amazon is already live. Target is already live. The retail world has shifted into gear, and the shoppers you want are already making decisions. Your customers are not waiting. The market isn’t waiting. Your business shouldn’t wait either.
