If discounts are the stuff of Black Friday’s allure, then Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has set enough products which sell for $10 or less to draw nearly every shopper. In the process, it is likely to pull foot and online traffic away from competitors, which Walmart can do uniquely because of its size and balance sheet. Product which are “loss leaders” (in other word’s, ones on which Walmart does not break even) are considered magnets. People come for the low prices, and leave with other items on which the world’s largest retailer makes money. Almost no one goes online or t0 a store to buy just one thing.
Walmart’s under $10 items cover products from a wide array of its departments:
For children, Walmart sells the “Hello Kitty Friendship Bracelet Maker Kit” for $8.24. The “Crayola Color Wonder Paint Pallette” costs $9.97, but only online. Among the clothing for children, the “Baby Girls’ Hello Kitty 2 Piece Short Sleeve Pajama Set” for $8 and the “White Stag Knit Sleep Tee & Capri 2-Piece Set” for $7–each too inexpensive to imagine.
Consumer electronics products are usually considered among the most expensive items Walmart sells. Not so. “Ematic 7″ Tablet Accessory Kit w/ Bonus 8GB micro SD Card” sells for $9 online. That assumes people have a tablet, which limits the appeal somewhat. “The Vizio XCH006 High-Speed HDMI Cable, 6′” has much broader appeal. All one needs is a properly configured TV, many of which can be bought from Walmart as inexpensively as $200 or as expensively as over $1,000. In the cyber-aisle, Walmart also sells a “4GB MicroSD Mobile Memory Card” for $4.21, which means it is three times as expensive to ship as to buy.
And, there is no reason the head of the family should go without. Tops on the list of gifts–the “Cold Front Men’s Trapper Hat with Faux Fur” for $8. The one trimmed with real fur costs more. And, for the father who has everything, the “Cold Front MEN’S HINGED 3 IN 1 BALACLAVA WITH FRONT PANEL BRUSHED FLEECE – MOISTURE WICKING AND UV 30 PROTECTION” at only $9. In colder climates, it can be worn all year round.
Happy holiday from Walmart, which offers items which cost less than the price of the gas to drive to its stores.
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