How Wal-Mart Plans to Attack the Holiday Season

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is getting ready for the holiday season, and with Halloween just a few days away this mega-retailer is throwing out all the stops for the final stretch of 2015. Once November 1 comes, this will kick off the beginning of eight weeks of “deep savings and holiday retailtainment.”

With over 140 million customers each week and an expected 210 million-plus visits to its app — up from 18 million in 2013 — for the months of November and December, Wal-Mart is forecasting the most integrated holiday shopping season ever.

This giant is powered by an excess of 4,500 stores, millions of additional items in the online warehouse and a best-in-class fulfillment network.

Judith McKenna, chief operating officer of Wal-Mart, noted on the company’s blog that high-low retailers and pricing games have led to frustrated holiday shoppers who second-guess their purchase decisions throughout the season. As a result she outlined Wal-Mart’s plan to please customers and hopefully have solid sales:

• Honest, Low Prices All Season Long: The retailer promises more rollbacks that last at least 90 days on everything from electronics to baking essentials, and fewer “this weekend only” holiday offers.
• Free, Easy Pickup With New Mobile Check-In: Nearly 75% of traffic on the company site is expected to come from a mobile device this holiday season. To better serve the growing number of shoppers who order online and pick up in stores, Wal-Mart is rolling out Mobile Check-In.
• Scan and Shop With Wish Lists: For the first time, customers can scan items in store to build a wish list or search for someone else’s list by using the Wal-Mart app.

McKenna also commented:

I want customers to be in awe when they see what we have to offer as they walk into our stores or click around our site. Our managers have made a lot of progress to improve the shopping experience before the holidays and our merchants made sure we have the right products in stock. We’re delivering the prices customers expect, but we’ve taken it up a notch. Our Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Walmart.com will be a powerful combination for customers this holiday season — trust me.

Shares of Wal-Mart were trading up 0.7% at $58.04 Thursday afternoon, with a consensus analyst price target of $63.10 and a 52-week trading range of $57.16 to $90.97.

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