Sure, stores have been pushing discounts on holiday merchandise since Halloween, but experts say Thanksgiving weekend still lives up to the hype of serving up the largest breadth of the season’s bargains from TVs to clothing. Shoppers need to do their homework, however, before joining the crowds at the mall or heading online for the official kickoff that’s increasingly happening the day of the turkey feast. “You have to do research in advance and know what the best prices are at the stores and what time,” said Brad Wilson, editor in chief of BradsDeals.com, which tracks holiday discounts. On Wednesday, Target will give early access to some of the specials reserved for the holiday kickoff by offering a handful of Black Friday discounts both in stores and online. [...] for the second year in a row, Walmart is lowering prices on popular toys, electronics and other items to match or beat select Black Friday deals from top rivals like Best Buy, Toys R Us and Target. Best Buy decided not to open around the clock this year because traffic in its stores in the middle of the night was light. Matthew Ong, an analyst at Nerdwallet.com, a personal finance website, says having the ad while you shop in the stores will ensure that you get the advertised price. Target has spruced up its app with new technology, powered by Point Inside, that pins the location of items shoppers are looking for onto interactive store maps. Toys R Us has a new app that lets you find what you’re looking for down to the shelf, and pushes deal offers to your smartphone while you’re in the store. [...] Walmart has unveiled an interactive circular on its website that brings together customer product reviews, buyer’s guides and how-to videos on products. Walmart just started to match prices with Amazon.com and other online competitors.