Walmart expands $10 toy program
Filed under: Wal-Mart Stores
Walmart (WMT) has announced that it will aggressively expand its $10 toy program for the 2009 holiday season. Last year the program applied to a total of ten toys, and this year they say it will apply to over 100 toys.
The world's largest retailer is trying to get a jump on competitors by introducing the program early in the year, while people are starting to think about what they can afford to spend in the fourth quarter as Thanksgiving and Christmas approach.
The company said in a press release, "According to Walmart customer research, by the month of August 55 percent of shoppers report having started budgeting for their holiday toy shopping, and 39 percent say they have started watching for deals."
Most analysts believe that overall, retail sales will be down this holiday season, which could certainly mean more store closings and layoffs at the end of the year. Walmart's $10 toy program is likely to pull in traffic from other retailers, which will probably undermine competitors' sales and make the holidays even tougher than they would have been otherwise.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
9-30-2009 @ 7:16AM
Cheryl said...
Sometimes people "gotta do what they have to do". What with paying 30% of my income for COBRA insurance coverage, I have to make ends meet somehow to pay my other bills & house taxes, etc. and still make sure the kiddies get something.
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10-01-2009 @ 1:13AM
JP said...
More Chinese junk.
9-30-2009 @ 8:14AM
todd said...
they need to start up there layaway program that would help alot of families .
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9-30-2009 @ 8:58AM
kathy said...
Amen to the layaway--walmart really needs to bring this option back......
It will help help a lot of folks
9-30-2009 @ 10:49AM
emily said...
yes they do .. it would help out a whole lot for me
9-30-2009 @ 7:51PM
cindy said...
I totally agree with your comment on bringing back the Layaway program. So many people would use it. Many folks do not have credit cards or any other method to pay for these items. I always used layaway when it was available. Sales would increase with the return of layaway
9-30-2009 @ 8:21AM
Larry said...
More cheap junk made in China which took jobs from Americans from WalMart.
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9-30-2009 @ 10:09AM
Mary said...
Tell me where you can buy American made toys. I have looked at more places than Wal-Mart and even online. They are scarce as hen's teeth.
9-30-2009 @ 10:21AM
Bob said...
Get rid of the unions and other money grabbing organizations, let the people work at a decent wage and you may see more products made in the USA. Every where you shop, 99% of the toys are made overseas.
9-30-2009 @ 8:50PM
Bob Uhler said...
Gee Bob, what's a decent wage? Here's a hint--Wal-Mart doesn't pay it. Unions fight for livable wages. You may be gleeful that the UAW starting wage at Caterpillar is now $12 an hour, but that guy making the $12 an hour won't be buying a nice house, nice car, nice appliances, nice anything for a while. Kind of a bummer for a consumer diriven economy. What do you do for a living? I bet it can be done in Singapore or India or China for less. Be careful what you wish for, your wages may be described as "money grabbing" some day.
9-30-2009 @ 8:43AM
Ol' Joe said...
Just make a trip to walfart and go to customer service, ask if they carry any American made toys and when they dont know or say no, inform them you are going to Sears to shop.
If people did this just once it would speak volumes.
Before Sam Walton died 90% of their goods were made in USA, now, only the store is.
I'm, Ol' Joe and I approve this message
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9-30-2009 @ 8:51AM
Rhett said...
Walmart - always doing more for the shopper. Thank U!
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9-30-2009 @ 8:56AM
Beverly said...
If people would stop buying toys from Wally World (Wal-Mart) and complain about NO layaway then I think wal-mart would bring their layaway back.They would have no choice since the toys would be sitting on the shelves and not selling.With the economy the way it is right now,we need the layaways in force.Kmart will sell most Christmas items since they have the layaway.WAY TO GO KMART.....
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9-30-2009 @ 9:25AM
watdafuk said...
Just what they need an excuse to import more lead covered cheap Chinese crap. Joy to the world.
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9-30-2009 @ 9:31AM
Jane said...
This is great news to help with the holiday shopping budget. Also, I found this site that shows the hot new toys for christmas and you can see which of the major retailers has them in stock and then find the best price on them
http://www.HotToys2009.com
I'm almost done with my holiday shopping; nice to be done early for a change! (spreads the bills out too!!!)
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9-30-2009 @ 9:44AM
CORN said...
I don't shop at Sear's because of how they treat their employees. K-Mart and Sear's are now the same company and generally K-Mart is now more expensive than Target.
I remember when K-Mart was generally the affordable option, not so anymore. On average the prices are 2-10 dollars more than anywhere else.
Sidenote:
Would love to shop american, will Ol'Joe be paying my daughter's co-payments so I could do so? Thanks guy, that would be a real help.
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9-30-2009 @ 9:56AM
Carol said...
I generally shop at WalMart for a lot of items...BUT for the past year or so, since they fazed out the layaway program our holiday shopping has been done else where. We used to could depend on Walmart to be our major help with Christmas gifts, now its buy what we can, when we can, where we can. There is a K-Mart about 45 minutes drive from us and guess that is where we will try to go this year for layaways. Always held out hope WalMart would bring it back. To those of us on a very STRICT budget (which is most of us, huh?) the layaway at WalMart was the best help we had. I buy for 13 grandchildren each year and WalMart WAS my lifesaver! Guess we will have to look elsewhere this year.....AGAIN!
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9-30-2009 @ 9:56AM
Marti said...
I think people just go overboard during the holidays. They are already spending money they don't have (living beyond their means), but the push to buy something (and not just a single something... multiple somethings) for everyone during the holidays makes it even more difficult. For the past few years I have refused to buy gifts for adults and that really helps with budgeting. A couple of family members weren't too thrilled about it, but oh well! Christmas gifts are for kids. A nice holiday meal with the family should be the only gift an adult should ask for.
Personally, I don't shop at Walmart because I don't like how *everything* is made in China. I also don't like shopping there because a lot of the stores nearby are really dirty. I have yet to visit a filthy Target, and even though they have a lot of foreign-made products, not all of them are from China! lol
Walmart is great for those that have to stay on a tighter budget (even though it can be argued that with coupons and sales they can get bargains elsewhere). But, I hear a lot of people saying that they hate Walmart and don't like to shop there. If you don't like to shop there, then don't shop there! Complaining about the company and then still going there and spending money doesn't really make an impact. If all of the people that hated Walmart would contact them, express their dislike, and then stay away from the store, Walmart would definitely start noticing and then start to change. Until we start *doing* instead of just *talking,* they will never change.
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9-30-2009 @ 12:38PM
maryann said...
I bet they are all made in China.... I will not buy them
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9-30-2009 @ 10:22AM
Elaine said...
Some of us may remember when we gave "homemade" gifts to save money and let our loved ones know how much we love them. Giving of gifts also teaches us to think of others instead of filling our homes with goodies for ourselves. Can you imagine the wise men bringing Baby Jesus cheap tokens of their esteem.
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