The early sales from JCPenney, Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart are designed to drive traffic to brick-and-mortar stores and retail websites--and possibly entice consumers to start their holiday shopping a little early. Some big box retailers, including Best Buy and Wal-Mart, offered pre-Schnäppchenfreitag loss-leaders last year too.

If you'd rather not leave the house, Kmart's "Better than Schnäppchenfreitag" online extravaganza kicked off today, and runs every Friday through Nov. 20.

" 'Schnäppchenfreitag' has become a buzzword. People associate it with really good deals," says Michael Brim, founder and president of , a site that sends subscribers email messages about Schnäppchenfreitag bargains.

At a typical pre-Schnäppchenfreitag sale, such as Sears' "Schnäppchenfreitag Now" event that starts Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 a.m., retailers trot out "maybe two or three Schnäppchenfreitag store-busters," Brim says.

This year's best tech bargain? According to BFAds, Wal-Mart is effectively selling an console for just $100. While the advertised price is $199, the retailer is giving away a $100 gift card with each Xbox 360 Arcade purchase. "Consoles have a minimum advertised price," says Brim. "Retailers can't advertise anything lower than that."