Shop Talk
Retailers, consumers and prices
Check Out Line: Can new systems get Best Buy back on its game?
Check out the impending barrage of new video games.
It is all about motion sensors and 3D as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony introduce new systems and devices to get more people gaming.
Microsoft has a full-body motion-sensing system called Kinect. Nintendo has a new DS handheld device that can play games and show movies in 3D. Sony has the “Move,” which uses a wand like the Wii to simulate motion in games.
Which system will you buy? Don’t know? Sounds confusing?
That could be just the thing Best Buy needs to boost sales.
The largest U.S. electronics retailer posted worse-than-expected earnings amid sluggish sales and higher costs on Tuesday.
Some analysts are hoping that the new video games and 3D televisions could help lift Best Buy later this year.
Check Out Line: The tale of two home centers
Check out the differing prospects at Home Depot and Lowe’s.
Home Depot topped analysts’ expectations with its quarterly report on Tuesday morning and raised 2010 forecasts after its strong start out of the gate.
That dose of confidence came a day after smaller rival Lowe’s issued guidance that disappointed investors. Remember, Lowe’s was a bit cautious when it came to talking about the possibility of an economic recovery.
Meanwhile, retail investors got more big news a little later in the morning: Wal-Mart’s quarterly results. Early signs showed that sales were a bit better than Wall Street anticipated. Still, sales at U.S. Walmart stores open at least a year fell 1.4 percent. The world’s largest retailer said it plans to open a significant number of stores in the second and third quarters.
Also in the basket:
Paper? Plastic? At Walmart, the push for reuseable
Three Walmart stores in Northern California are no longer giving shoppers the option of packing their purchases in free plastic bags.
Instead, in stores in Folsom, Citrus Heights and Ukiah, Walmart is offering shoppers resuable bags — a regular sized bag for 15 cents or an oversized bag for 50 cents.
It’s part of a plan by Walmart to cut plastic shopping bag waste in its stores by one-third by 2013.
In 52 other stores in California, Walmart is now selling both of these reusable bags up front at the register, where cashiers are encouraging shoppers to buy them when they check out (although shoppers can still opt for the free plastic bags).
When I visited the American Canyon store outside Napa Valley, plenty of shoppers were still having purchases piled into free plastic bags. But others chose to buy reusable ones, saying they didn’t mind paying for a reusable bag if it would keep plastic ones from piling up at home.
“It’s rare you can get something for 15 cents these days,” shopper Gloria Campbell told me.
But there are skeptics, especially at the stores where Walmart no longer provides free bags. Posters on message board ask why they have to pay for something that used to be free, especially at a discount retailer known for touting its low prices.
Unfortunately the Walmart in Milpitas does not have the 15 cent bags and is only pushing the 50 cent ones. Why not just have a bag recycling center where the environmentally conscious can recycle their bags as I already do at home?
Unicorn + Clown = Surprise hit for Walmart
If the NFL playoff games weren’t filled with enough unexpected action to keep you awake this past Sunday, something else was — a screaming clown.
Walmart aired a new commercial during the games this weekend meant to promote its low prices on party supplies.
Good timing, considering millions of Americans are getting ready to host parties for the Feb. 7 Super Bowl game.
The Walmart ad, which features a misplaced unicorn and a screaming clown, has taken on a life of its own online. It now ranks as the No. 5 on the Viral Video Chart. It’s quite a change from a few years ago, when the most action in a Walmart ad was an animated yellow happy face racing around its stores, slashing prices.
Take a look and tell us what you think:
That was so funny… scaring kids is good for them, it lets them know what is ahead of them in life ..
Check Out Line: Ready for the after-Christmas sales
Check out retailers’ post-holiday push.
Shop Talk remembers when after-Christmas sales were advertised in the newspaper on Christmas Day itself. Times have changed a bit. Walmart is already letting you know what deals will be available, including ones that could lead you to spend more at its stores.
J.C. Penney, meanwhile, said it would open its doors at 5 a.m. on the day after Christmas, the earliest start ever. While online shoppers get 99-cent per item shipping, J.C. Penney is still going a little old school. Those who get its Christmas Day newspaper circular will get good ol’ coupons to use in stores.
So what are the deals? Let’s take a quick look at Walmart. Right now, you can buy the Xbox 360 Arcade Console for $199. If you wait until Dec. 26, you get it for the same price plus a $50 gift card. It’s all part of the retailer’s “After-Christmas Week of Savings” push.
But we checked. That $8 Zhu Zhu Pet special only runs through today. Parents, you’ve been warned.
Also in the basket:
Check Out Line: How do I get to the closest Walmart?
Check out what has emerged as a hot online search term as the days remaining to buy holiday gifts quickly dwindle.
According to Hitwise, last week searches for store locators reached their second highest peak since the week of Thanksgiving and Black Friday. For the week ending Dec. 12, searches for store locators jumped 77 percent.
And just which stores were shoppers trying to locate?
Searches for ‘walmart store locator’ were the most popular and received 4.6 time more clicks than the 2nd ranked term –which was ‘marshalls store locator’.
Staples, Target and Toys R Us rounded out the top 5 store locators that drew shopper searches.
Also in the basket:
It’s hard to imagine people not knowing where the closest walmart is…
Black Friday: First Blood Part II
We were wondering earlier today how much longer it would take until customers shopping for Black Friday deals got rowdy. We told you about one shoving match in Centennial, Colorado, that involved dropping a little old lady. Now we have a “disturbance” at a Walmart store in Upland, California, near Rancho Cucamonga in Southern California’s Inland Empire. What motivates some of these attacks? Toy hamsters! (See our earlier entry on this phenomenon. Also, look toward the bottom of this blog entry.)
The San Bernardino Sun reported details:
“Upland police officers received reports of the disturbance about 2:45 a.m. Friday and sent about four officers to the store at 1540 W. Foothill Boulevard, Lt. Jim Etchason said. ‘A manager at the store called it in to the police department,’ Etchason said. ‘(The manager) said numerous customers were causing a disturbance with each other.’”
The cops told managers to close the store while they cleared out shoppers and made them wait in the parking lot. A few hours later, they were allowed to go back inside, the Sun reported. There were no reports of injuries or damage, the paper said on its website.
A company spokesman confirmed the incident, but said the store was cleared out and closed for 45 minutes.
“We’re hearing positive feedback from customers and associates in our stores across the country today. Our store plans are helping our customers have a safe and enjoyable shopping experience at Walmart,” the spokesman also said.
As long as it’s positive feedback.
Walmart takes to iPhones to find holiday shoppers
Walmart has launched an aggressive push to win market share this holiday shopping season, cutting prices on everything from books to toys to lean ground beef and televisions.
Now, it is taking its effort to reach potential holiday shoppers beyond its typical TV or print ads.
While Walmart is already tweeting, and has launched an official Facebook page (where it now has 43,112 fans), it has now come out with an iPhone application to help shoppers pick out holiday gifts.
“New Walmart iPhone app! U can take pic of your room & see what size TV would look best (and other cool stuff)” Walmart Kevin tweeted today, on the retailer’s behalf.
Indeed, the first edition of the application is focused on electronics, but Walmart intends to adds more products to future editions of the app.
Walmart joins a growing list of retailers, including JC Penney, Target and Best Buy, who are trying to find customers in the land of social media.
While Facebook, Twitter and iPhone apps have not yet gained enough critical mass to make or break the season, in a year where holiday sales might struggle to rise above 2008′s depressed levels, it looks like retailers are determined to chase holiday sales wherever they can find them.
Check Out Line: New chapters in book battle
Check out the battles emerging over books.
Google on Thursday announced plans to offer its own online electronic bookstore, joining a battlefield currently dominated by Amazon.com.
The company plans to sell ebooks for any device with a web browser and its library is expected to start at about half a million books when it is launched in 2010.
The library would compete with the likes of Amazon.com’s Kindle offerings, but the books an be bought from Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com, as well as from Google directly.
Separately, Barnes & Noble is expected to launch its own electronic reader next week. Pictures of that reader on Gizmodo look kind of cool.
The New York Times also says that even public libraries are getting more into ebooks, though the business model is dicey for publishers.
In paper and ink book news, Walmart.com said it will offer the top 10 preselling U.S. books for $10 each, including free shipping.
Check Out Line: Holiday time in Toyland
Check out Toys R Us hiring 35,000 for the holiday season. The toy store giant said it would keep its U.S. store hiring plans at the same level as the last two years, even though industry watchers expect a relatively bleak winter.
Toys R Us, the New Jersey-based chain with nearly 70,000 permanent associates around the globe, is preparing for what it expects will be “another busy holiday shopping season.” Besides hiring about 35,000 for the season, current Toys R Us employees will also be given the chance to work extra hours, the company said.
So far, we haven’t seen any must-have toys, but the battle has clearly begun. Also on Wednesday, Walmart unveiled its plans to cut prices on toys once again this holiday season. The world’s largest retailer said it would have a $10 toys section in all U.S. stores today, offering more than 100 toys at that price.
Also in the basket:
Credit limits, self-discipline threaten holiday sales
As a young liberal American, I was always led to believe Walmart was the root of all evil. And yet, as times get tougher, it’s deals like this that will drive ridiculous sales come this holiday season. Is that really a bad thing? Also, where’s the video game discounts? That’s what kids are playing with these days, not toy trains.
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Resident Shop Talk Expert
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