Jump to content

I have an idea why Walmart's going early

Grants Dad

By Grants Dad
in 2006

 Share

Recommended Posts

Grants Dad

Grants Dad

Posted
Posted

So some guys at work and I were talking about a Walmart's early sale (it's a slow Friday here), and we were wondering if this might be what they're using to gauge the marketplace. Like, they put out these good deals right now, and try to draw people in and see what effect it has on the bottom line. Then, at the conclusion of this sale, that's when they determine what goes on sale for BF. That way, if the sales are still lagging, we get awesome deals from them for BF, but if this early sale goes well, we might not see the jaw-dropping sales for BF?

 

You guys decide, are we half baked and bored :confused: , or might we be on to something? :razz:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bunniq

Bunniq

Posted
Posted

Very interesting thought,,,, it would be smart of them to do that... do you guys think they will have enough time to change up any sale plans that quickly??

I dont know, I would think it would take a while to plan, print, order, and make sure most if not all of the stores have the items advertised.

 

Maybe someone who is on that side of retail can give a few hints on what it takes to plan sales and print the ads.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
peachysquirt21

peachysquirt21

Posted
Posted

So some guys at work and I were talking about a Walmart's early sale (it's a slow Friday here), and we were wondering if this might be what they're using to gauge the marketplace. Like, they put out these good deals right now, and try to draw people in and see what effect it has on the bottom line. Then, at the conclusion of this sale, that's when they determine what goes on sale for BF. That way, if the sales are still lagging, we get awesome deals from them for BF, but if this early sale goes well, we might not see the jaw-dropping sales for BF?

 

You guys decide, are we half baked and bored :confused: , or might we be on to something? :razz:

I really cannot see them dropping the sales for BF. They been having probs already so having this early sale & I am sure it will continue if not be better for BF. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
conj

conj

Posted
Posted

I dont know, I would think it would take a while to plan, print, order, and make sure most if not all of the stores have the items advertised.

 

Maybe someone who is on that side of retail can give a few hints on what it takes to plan sales and print the ads.

months to years is the timeline for large chains. To organize inventory and all that goes with it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dmmiller

dmmiller

Posted
Posted

So far our WM here has not put out an ad for anything for the weekend. I heard they were supposed to, but nothing here so far. We will see when Sunday's paper comes out I guess.

I just saw the new ad online. I got an email about it, and went on the WM site and there she was. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Adamtanderson

Adamtanderson

Posted
Posted
I read somewhere that WalMart's early sale is an effort to get people to spent most of their holiday budget sooner and worry less about competing for the 1 or 2 items people have left on their list at the end of the season. I wonder if other chains will follow suit next year and push the start of the Christmas shopping season to early November.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
kren

kren

Posted
Posted

I read somewhere that WalMart's early sale is an effort to get people to spent most of their holiday budget sooner and worry less about competing for the 1 or 2 items people have left on their list at the end of the season. I wonder if other chains will follow suit next year and push the start of the Christmas shopping season to early November.

 

Heck, why not push it back to before Labor Day? Then I could get back-to-school shopping done, both my kids' fall birthdays done, AND Christmas!!

 

(It is getting a bit ridiculous to see Christmas stuff up in October....)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
amyers12345

amyers12345

Posted
Posted

here we have pretty cold winters, you open up your pool around memorial day, and don't need to shut it down until late-september. Last July, I went to Walmart after pool chemicals. They had quit carrying them to put out fall things. BUT, the first week of January, they started moving the clearance over to put out the pool chemicals... 6 months before anyone could use them, and they take them out at peak season!

 

So, Christmas in October doesn't bother me nearly as bad as that! Walmart is ruining the human race's perception of season!:D:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
reportermomof3

reportermomof3

Posted
Posted

here we have pretty cold winters, you open up your pool around memorial day, and don't need to shut it down until late-september. Last July, I went to Walmart after pool chemicals. They had quit carrying them to put out fall things. BUT, the first week of January, they started moving the clearance over to put out the pool chemicals... 6 months before anyone could use them, and they take them out at peak season!

 

So, Christmas in October doesn't bother me nearly as bad as that! Walmart is ruining the human race's perception of season!:D:eek:

Same thing has happened to me in re: finding sandals, water shoes and other summer items. Gone by the beginning of July so there's room for back-to-school. I don't want these things in January -- that's when I need winter items. Can't they understand that kids grow in the middle of each season, too? :cheesy: "Oh, they're long gone because it takes us weeks to get the back-to-school out." Argh!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
santaclaus

santaclaus

Posted
Posted

anyone else think that wal mart is having this "sale" before they end layaway?

I actually thought about that. I think they may be worried about what kind of impact not having a layaway on Black Friday will have on their bottom line.

 

I heard, before they made the announcement that they were closing all layaway departments, that they were going to leave layaway in some stores open. Did anyone besides me here that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
H_Hancock

H_Hancock

Posted
Posted

While WM may be trying to do a pre-emptive strike on your BF dollars by having BF-like sales right now, a very, very large part may be Wal-Mart's very disappointing sales increase last month.....

 

 

A disappointing sales performance and outlook from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Thursday raised the possibility of price wars this holiday season – a boon to consumers but a troubling prospect for the entire retail industry.

 

“The news from Wal-Mart is definitely discouraging,” said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, a research company in Swampscott, Mass. “They are going to be very price aggressive. And it is going to have an effect on everyone. It is going to force other retailers to cut their prices, which in turn will squeeze their profit margins.”

 

The world's largest retailer, whose sales were dragged down by a failed women's fashion strategy that went too trendy and by disruptions from a store remodeling program, said it will be using price as a weapon in such areas as toys and electronics to drive holiday sales.

 

Wal-Mart, which should have benefited from falling gasoline prices, reported a meager 0.5 percent gain in October same-store sales; it was hurt by its namesake division, which eked out a 0.3 percent gain. Sam's Club had a 2.0 percent same-store sales gain. A big problem at Wal-Mart was that it overstocked stores with too many trendy items like skinny jeans, officials told Wall Street analysts.

 

Wal-Mart's results were below the 1.5 percent gain expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

 

Wal-Mart also estimated that same-stores sales should be unchanged in November from a year ago.

 

Meanwhile, rival Target had a solid 3.9 percent gain in same-store sales, though the figure was slightly below the 4.2 percent estimate from Wall Street.

 

 

Federated which acquired May Department Stores Co. last year, posted a hefty 7.7 percent gain in same-store sales, higher than the 6.2 percent estimate from Wall Street. Same-store sales include only Macy's and Bloomingdale's.

 

Federated said it expects same-store sales to increase by 3 percent to 5 percent in November as well as in the fourth quarter as a whole.

 

Penney, helped by strong consumer demand for fall apparel and accessories, had a same-store sales increase of 8.1 percent in its department store business. The results beat the 6.2 percent estimate.

 

Limited Brands Inc.'s 9 percent same-store sales gain topped the 7.2 percent estimate from Wall Street.

 

 

 

Article consolidated from the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, Nov. 2, 2006: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20061102-1338-retailsales.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sm1kla

sm1kla

Posted
Posted

...they're using to gauge the marketplace. Like, they put out these good deals right now... if the sales are still lagging, we get awesome deals from them for BF, but if this early sale goes well, we might not see the jaw-dropping sales for BF?

 

 

 

Retailers are nervous. They have not been meeting expectations and retail has been low all year. Here's a good story on this same topic from Marketplace.org (American Public Media) http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/11/03/PM200611032.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tina06098

tina06098

Posted
Posted
We had a big article in our paper that walmart is dropping prices on electronics and toys and going to start matching competitor prices again effective immediately. they are trying to boost sales before black friday because best buy, cir city etc and toy stores hurt them with their deals.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...