By Paul Gagnon – Director, North American TV Research, DisplaySearch
Walmart continues a tradition that started several years ago. Starting this Saturday at 8:00 am, Walmart will offer Black Friday level deals on a handful of consumer electronics, including a pair of TVs. The deals are pretty much in line with what we’d expect during Black Friday. You can see ad with some of this pricing below. I jumped on a similar promotion in 2007 and picked up a Toshiba HD DVD player for $99, which was stellar for the time. Too bad I placed my bet with the losing side of the high definition DVD war.
Why are they doing this? Several reasons come to mind. First, it gives Walmart a chance to establish serious Black Friday credibility early, which could help attendance that day. Second, there are little or no competitors vying for the same shoppers; they’ve got the floor to themselves, so to speak. Finally, it’s a chance to clear some sluggishly performing inventory prior to the arrival in store of high volume Black Friday deals. I’m not saying these particular models are poor sellers, but 40″+ models haven’t been selling as robustly in recent months as 32″ and under sizes, so there could be some lingering inventory. Also of note was the lack of value-priced brands in the ad, like Vizio or Sanyo. Instead, Panasonic and Sharp are featured. Both charge a little more for their products, so the perceived value of the promotion is probably greater.
In any event, the deals are good (especially for the Xbox!), and there are likely to be some lines early on Saturday morning. Early holiday sales are probably here to stay. Now if only we can do something about people putting up their Christmas decorations in October…
Figure 1: Walmart.com Ad for November 7
We will continue to report on holiday promotion activities along with our NPD colleagues; for a post-Black Friday analysis, register for our webinar.
