Getty Images Wal-Mart store in Paramount, California on Nov. 23, 2012

Wal-Mart has torn up the playbook for Black Friday sales, again.

Throwing down the gauntlet to other retailers in what's shaping up to be a down-to-the-wire shopping season, Wal-Mart /quotes/zigman/245476/delayed /quotes/nls/wmt WMT said Tuesday it will match competitors' best Black Friday deals a week early.

At 8 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 22, Wal-Mart will cut prices on some of the most popular toys and electronics to match the best Black Friday offers from Target /quotes/zigman/253872/delayed /quotes/nls/tgt TGT , Toys R' Us and Best Buy /quotes/zigman/219712/delayed /quotes/nls/bby BBY .

Even before this latest bid to lure shoppers, Wal-Mart had already upped the Black Friday ante by opening earlier, a move analysts say could hurt profit down the line. Last week, the retailer reported a surprise third-straight quarter of U.S. same-stores declines.

"Black Friday is our Super Bowl, and we plan to win," said Duncan Mac Naughton, chief merchandising and marketing officer for Wal-Mart U.S., on Tuesday. He repeated the "why" part as well: six fewer shopping days from Thanksgiving to Christmas this year.

Starting Tuesday, Wal-Mart will also extend its Christmas Ad Match to online customers. Shoppers who buy an item online and find a lower in-store competitor price can recoup the difference via a Wal-Mart gift card by emailing christmasadmatch@walmart.com. That policy has been in place for in-store shoppers, and it runs up to Dec. 24, excluding Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

Among the latest Wal-Mart offers: a LeapPad 2 for $39.99, dropped from $79, a Monopoly Board Game for $5 (from $7.77) and PS4 and Xbox video games, such as "Call of Duty Ghosts" and "Battlefield 4", down to $49 from $59.96.

There's no sign yet of how the other retailers plan to respond. But no doubt, if Wal-Mart is offering big sales this Friday, watch this space, as competitors' marketing teams scramble. Some analysts say none of this will save the holiday season, as fewer shoppers are expected to hit the stores and the Internet. Industry researchers such as Shopper Trek predict just a 2.4% rise in holiday sales this year.

Wal-Mart has been the subject of other news headlines this week. There's talk of a national Black Friday boycott of the retailer, it's in hot water over a Thanksgiving food drive for employees, and it's facing potential lawsuits over 117 fired employees.

— Barbara Kollmeyer

Follow this reporter @bkollmeyer

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