Will Wal-Mart Get a Boost from 5 Days of Black Friday Sales?
Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is leaving no stone unturned to attract holiday shoppers as it stretches its Black Friday deals over five days starting from Thanksgiving Day til Cyber Monday, per the reports. The deal will be offered at Walmart.com and in its stores.
The company’s online deals will include items like Toshiba touchscreen laptops and Samsung Ultra HD Curved Smart TV that will be available from12:01 a.m. on Thanksgiving. At 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, stores will offer Disney products, PlayStation 4, bed sheets and cookware on sale. The company will also be giving "One Hour Guarantees" in some of the items purchased during this period.
Later at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving, Walmart will have electronics on sale, such as cameras, tablets and Fitbit. Then from 6 a.m. to noon on Black Friday, Walmart will provide 30% off on categories including Christmas lights, Fisher-Price toys, CDs, and select Samsung TVs. Through Sunday, tires, phones, and jewelry will also be available at discounted prices.
Apart from this, Walmart will offer free shipping on the top 100 items and will slash prices of 20,000 items. Starting Friday, Walmart will also begin matching online prices with Amazon.com, Inc.'s (AMZN) in its stores.
The holiday shopping season is crucial for retailers like Walmart, Kohl’s Corp (KSS) and Target Corp. (TGT), with sales in November and December expected to account for about 19% of annual revenues, according to the National Retail Federation. Spending on this holiday season may rise 4.1%, more than last year’s 3.1% gain, per the Federation.
In the recently reported third quarter fiscal 2015, Walmart’s earnings came in line with estimates, while revenues were better-than-expected. The company however narrowed its earnings guidance for fiscal 2015, as the company fears the fierce competitive environment ahead of the holiday season.
Also, Walmart has been struggling of late due to a challenging retail sales environment and difficult consumer spending. Low-income shoppers are being squeezed between stagnant wages and reduced government food stamps. (Read: Wal-Mart's Q3 Earnings In Line, Sales Beat; View Narrowed)
However, it is encouraging that gas prices have reduced, which should increase consumer spending power a bit. This may benefit the company and other retailers in the upcoming holiday season.
Walmart carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Read the Full Research Report on WMT
Read the Full Research Report on AMZN
Read the Full Research Report on TGT
Read the Full Research Report on KSS
Zacks Investment Research
