Walmart Lowers Prices, Offers Free Shipping to Boost Sales

Retail

Published: December 11, 2014 10:35 am

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 9:28 am

To encourage shoppers to spend their money in any way they want to, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is offering free shipping for all online orders for one day only (today, Thursday, December 11), as well as price reductions on in-store purchases beginning Saturday, December 13, and running through Christmas.

But wait, there’s more. On Monday the company will offer a reprise of its Cyber Monday pricing on selected items. For example, a 40-inch HDTV has been priced at $259 and a 7-inch kids tablet will cost $69 instead of $99.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest report on advance retail sales, November spending rose 0.7% month-over-month and 5.1% year-over-year. Gasoline sales were down 0.8% from October and 2.1% from November 2013, and presumably that is cash in consumers’ pockets that Walmart and other retailers would like to get a piece of.

Walmart reported its first quarterly same-store sales increase in nearly two years at the end of the third quarter, and the company would like to string together several quarters like that. The company forecast same-store sales for the quarter at flat to up 1%.

Selling hundreds of items at sale prices crimps margins, but Walmart really has no choice but to chase the numbers. If the company cannot win on price and volume, its chances of winning at all drop severely.

Shares were up about 1.3% in mid-morning trading Thursday, at $84.28 in a 52-week range of $72.27 to $88.09.

ALSO READ: Walmart in China: Still Bricks-and-Mortar in an Online World

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