Dive Brief:
- Walmart’s savings event, dubbed Walmart Deals, returns from Oct. 7 through Oct. 12, per a Tuesday press release. Walmart+ members will be able to access the event five hours earlier on Oct. 6 and all shoppers have several delivery options, such as same-day and express services.
- The company has deals on toys from brands like Hot Wheels and Lego, seasonal decor such as artificial Christmas trees, home electronics such as smart TVs, and more.
- Target’s previously announced Circle Week event also returns next month on some overlapping days, with deals spanning from everyday essentials to holiday merchandise, according to a release Monday. For example, the mass retailer will have 40% off Halloween costumes and will offer Circle 360 members first access to Shea McGee holiday ornaments.
Dive Insight:
If Target and Walmart’s events are any indicator, holiday shopping starts in October these days. The mass merchants join other retailers, including Amazon and Kohl’s, in bringing back their fall deals events to entice consumers to shop earlier.
Walmart's announcement Tuesday emphasized that “October has become a critical starting point for holiday prep.” The company’s CEO Doug McMillon sounded positive about the upcoming holiday period during an August earnings call.
“Back-to-school is usually something of an indicator of how the holidays will go, and we feel good about how it went for us in terms of units and dollars sold and inventory sell-through at both Walmart and Sam's Club,” the executive said on a call with analysts. “We had our Walmart U.S. store managers together last week for our holiday planning meeting where they got to see many of our new items in pricing for the upcoming season. We liked what we saw and heard, and we like our position for the back half of the year.”
A solid H2 performance would add to Walmart’s successful quarters so far this year. In Q2, the company saw revenue jump 4.8% year over year to $177.4 billion, while consolidated net income improved 51.8% to $7.2 billion. Walmart raised its full-year outlook for net sales, now expecting growth between 3.75% and 4.75%.
For Target, a successful holiday period is necessary to help right the business following declining sales and traffic.
Target's second quarter net sales declined 0.9% year over year to $25.2 billion, with both store and digital comps down in the period.
Its upcoming Circle Week event is from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11, with Circle 360 members getting access to sales 24 hours early. The retailer’s competing event will have three or more new discounts announced daily in what it’s calling “Deal of the Day,” and features sales on non-holiday products such as coffee and denim.
