Walmart Is Ready for Last-Minute Shopping Rush
December 18 2014 - 12:01AM
Business Wire
New customer survey finds customers hope to
finish their shopping on Super Saturday
Still haven’t checked everything off your Christmas gift list?
Well, you’re not alone. The world’s largest retailer conducted
in-person interviews with more than 2,200 customers in Walmart
stores across the U.S. on Saturday, Dec. 13 and found more than
one-third plan to shop for last-minute gifts on Super Saturday, the
last Saturday before Christmas.
To ensure last-minute shoppers get the gifts they want at a
great price, Walmart stores will continue to receive many of the
season’s hottest toys, electronics and home goods until Dec. 24.
The retailer is also helping its customers get in and out quickly
by creating designated areas near the front of its stores with
popular last-minute gifts such as stocking stuffers, gift sets and
gift cards. Customers can also choose to order from tens of
thousands of items on Walmart.com by Dec. 23 and receive free
same-day pickup in stores on Dec. 24.
“Over the past few years, we’ve noticed a trend in customers
waiting until the last minute to finish their shopping,” said Scott
McCall, senior vice president of merchandising for Walmart U.S.
“While many customers start their Christmas shopping in November,
the majority don’t put their lists away until Dec. 24. Our stores
are ready to help customers get everything they need from top toys
and electronics to stocking stuffers, cookies for Santa and the
easiest present to give: the gift card.”
Notable findings from Walmart’s holiday shopping survey
include:
- Procrastination a Top Excuse for
Last-Minute Shopping
- Last-minute shoppers cited being busy
with other holiday season activities (40%) or pure procrastination
(36%) as the top reasons they wait to finish their shopping.
- Cities with the highest percentage of
last-minute shoppers include: Sioux City, Iowa (47%), Indianapolis
(34%), Albuquerque, N.M. (33%), San Antonio (31%) and Fayetteville,
N.C. (23%).
- Sin City Shoppers Among Those
Betting on Super Saturday
- Nationwide, 42 percent of customers
conduct the majority of their Christmas shopping in December, with
36 percent planning to shop on Super Saturday.
- Las Vegas (76%) had the highest
percentage of respondents saying they plan to shop on Super
Saturday. This was followed by Phoenix (62%), Kansas City, Mo.
(62%), Columbus, Ohio (62%) and Houston (59%).
- Shopping Carts Will be Full of
Groceries and Toys
- Top purchases for last-minute holiday
shopping trips include gifts like toys and electronics (23%),
groceries for holiday meals (22%), stocking stuffers (21%),
holiday-party items (17%) and alcohol (17%).
- Of those planning to shop the Saturday
before Christmas, 68 percent of shoppers in Winston-Salem, N.C.,
and Sacramento, Calif., planned to purchase big gift items like
toys and electronics – almost three times the national average of
23 percent.
- Customers Won’t Let Their Children
Go Without Frozen
- What toys are hot this year?
Respondents said their children want the following: Anything
“Frozen” or Elsa-related, Legos and gaming systems like PlayStation
4 and Xbox.
- Spouses are the Hardest Person to
Shop for
- Spouses (28%) are the most difficult to
shop for, followed by children (26%), extended family (26%) and
friends or co-workers (19%).
- More than half of respondents from
Albuquerque, N.M. (52%) said their children were the hardest people
to shop for, twice the national average of 26 percent.
Last-Minute Deals and Stocking Stuffers
Walmart stores will have a stocking stuffer display with more
than 30 top gifts under $10, including Barbie, Transformers, My
Little Pony, Legos, card games and more. The retailer has added
hundreds of new Rollbacks and special buys on the season’s hottest
toys, electronics and home goods. A few Rollbacks in place while
supplies last, include:
- Vizio 42” Class Smart LED HDTV - $348
($50 savings)
- Holiday Barbie - $31 ($4 savings)
- Air Hogs RC Zero Gravity Laser Racer -
$29.88 ($5 savings)
- Razor E150 24V Electric Scooter - $117
($20 savings)
- Shark Bagless Cyclonic Hand Vac - $34
($4.87 savings)
- Canon PowerShot ELPH135 Camera Bundle -
$79 ($20 savings)
- Nikon Coolpix L830 Camera - $199 ($30
savings)
- NutriBullet Pro 900 - $129 with a $10
Walmart Gift Card ($30 value)
To make shopping easy and convenient for customers, the
retailer’s new Checkout Promise is in full effect, with more
registers open than ever before during the times when customers are
shopping most. Additionally, customers can shop tens of thousands
of items on Walmart.com and receive free same-day pickup in Walmart
stores.
The Gift of Choice – A Walmart Gift Card
Walmart confirmed that gift cards are more popular than ever and
no longer perceived as a thoughtless gift. The retailer heard from
its customers that they like giving gift cards because it offers
their family and friends options. To help customers provide an
extra special touch by personalizing the gift card, Walmart carries
a range of card holders, and is also for the first time providing
dozens of fun, DIY ideas for presenting gift cards on its Pinterest
page and on Walmart.com.
The retailer sells more than 50 different types of gift cards in
its stores and online at www.walmart.com/giftcards. In addition to
the Walmart Gift Card, the top five brands sold at Walmart include:
Apple iTunes, Darden Restaurants, Starbucks, Xbox and Applebee’s.
Walmart’s e-Gift Card can be sent anytime – even on Christmas
morning – and is usually received by the recipient within hours.
Walmart e-Gift Cards can be redeemed in-stores and online.
Editor’s Note:
Walmart commissioned a survey with customers while they waited
in line to take pictures with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 13 between
the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the following markets:
Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; Colorado
Springs, Colo. Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; El Paso, Texas;
Fayetteville, N.C.; Greensboro, N.C.; Houston, Texas; Indianapolis,
Ind.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Kan.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Las
Vegas, Nev.; Omaha, Neb.; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix, Ariz.;
Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio, Texas; Sioux City, Iowa;
Springfield, Mo.; Virginia Beach; Va.; Wichita; Kan.; Winston
Salem; N.C. The cross-sectional survey polled 2,269 customers ages
18 – 65 years old, of which, 41 percent were male and 59 percent
were female.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world
save money and live better – anytime and anywhere -- in retail
stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more
than 250 million customers and members visit our 11,202 stores
under 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 11
countries. With fiscal year 2014 sales of over $473 billion,
Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart
continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy
and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart
can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on
Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter
at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are
available
at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
Walmart Media RelationsSarah McKinney,
1-800-331-0085http://news.walmart.com/reporter
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