Maybe it is the drop in U.S. same-stores sales or the army of large retailers that will open their locations early on Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), the largest retailer in America, will stage a “Black Friday” event that will stretch for five days, which must be a record.
Walmart announced that its “deep discounts” will be available for the entire five-day period, which will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday. That is only the start of a slew of deals for customers, Walmart management said:
The retailer’s “New Black Friday” playbook for 2014 includes five key elements:
- Five days of deals with tailored events;
- More deals than ever — online and in stores on the hot brands and licenses such as Apple, Samsung, Beats by Dr. Dre, “Frozen,” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles;”
- The return of its industry exclusive 1-Hour Guarantee;
- Its first-ever interactive circular; and
- Store-specific plans to help manage crowds and make the shopping experience easier.
The playbook might resonate particularly due to the current peak of the college and NFL seasons.
The retailer hopes that it will improve on the number of people who walked through its door at the end of Thanksgiving a year ago:
Walmart served 22 million customers on Thanksgiving Day in 2013. With this year’s Black Friday deals beginning Thursday and lasting through Monday, Walmart is predicting that more families — adults and kids — will flock to its digital and physical aisles to take advantage of the retailer’s low prices on electronics, toys, kitchen appliances, bedding and thousands of other popular products.
With five times the number of days, the odds are in Walmart’s favor.
Walmart needs to have an edge this year. In the 13-week period that ended on August 1, same-store sales in the United States dropped 0.3%. U.S. segment operating income for the quarter that ended the same day dropped 2.4% to $5.25 billion. Wall Street does not expect those results to get much better. Year to date, Walmart shares are down 21%.
The trouble with the five-day program is that if people don’t go to Walmart at all, extending the holiday shopping period won’t matter.
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