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Tag: WalMart

  • Walmart Offering Free Holiday Shipping

    Walmart said today it will offer free holiday shipping on nearly 60,000 items with no minimum purchase through December 20.

    The free shipping offer includes all electronics, select video games, toys, home appliances, furniture, jewelry, and baby items.

    Walmart-Free-Shipping

    "Customers are doing all they can to save money this holiday, so we’re excited to offer free shipping to home, with no minimum purchase requirement as an early Christmas present to them," said Steve Nave, senior vice president and general manager of Walmart.com.

    "This limited-time free shipping to home offer on nearly 60,000 select items, including all electronics, is just one of the ways Walmart.com is helping families save money so they can bring home more for less this holiday season."

    Eligible items are shipped for free via standard shipping and delivered to customers’ doors within 3-5 business days after the order is processed. Return shipping is also free, or customers can return online orders to a local Walmart store.

     

     

  • One Thing Small Businesses Can Do Just as Well as Walmart

    Take a look at what Walmart’s doing on Facebook. The retail giant has put together a Groupon-like model for driving sales via its Facebook page, with a Facebook called CrowdSaver. Hat tip to The Next Web for pointing this out. 

    Walmart’s fans can look at the possible deals Walmart has come up with, and if any one deal gets a certain amount of likes (pre-set by Walmart), the deal will become a reality at Walmart.com while supplies last. 

    "We’re putting you in charge of lower prices," the company says in the heading on the app page. "If enough people Like this deal, we’ll make it happen."

    Right now, they’re displaying an Element 42" Plasma TV with Wall Mount with an 18% off discount price of $398. The deal required 5,000 likes to take effect, and the goal has already been met, as Walmart says, "Congratuations! There were enough Likes to make this deal happen. Come back later this week to purchase this deal."

    Walmart Crowdsaver on Facebook

    Walmart already has close to 2 million Facebook fans, so there is a pretty good chance that any deal they post will get enough likes to become real. That is unless they set the goal ridiculously high, but I doubt they will do this, because they want people to buy this stuff. 

    The tactic is not only going to be good for driving sales of select items, but it should help Walmart continue to boost its Facebook fan number as more people catch wind of this, which should happen fairly quickly, given that the strategy takes advantage of Facebook, which is obviously social by nature. People will see others’ likes through their news feeds. 

    As Chad Catacchio at The Next Web says, more brands will likely start doing this exact same thing. The good news is that you don’t have to be a big brand to utilize this kind of strategy. A smaller brand might want to keep the like number goal a little bit lower, but there’s no reason why a business of any size can’t try this. It could be a good way to increase sales as well as fans. It’s also a good way to keep fans engaged with your brand, and the more fans you get, the more news feeds you’ll get into. 

    Just keep in mind the goals for your strategy and know your limits. Make sure these clear to customers when applicable. 

    Of course you can promote this on and off of Facebook.

  • Walmart, Best Buy To Begin Selling Facebook Credits

    It’s perhaps not too much of a stretch to describe either Best Buy or Walmart as omnipresent, and together, the two retail chains are definitely hard to avoid.  So it looks like Facebook’s virtual currency will soon receive a huge push, as Walmart and Best Buy are supposed to start selling Facebook Credits gift cards.

    Gift cards worth $10, $25, and $50 should become available at Best Buy stores this week, while Walmart will sell cards worth $5, $10, $25, and $50.  And although only U.S. stores will carry the cards and Facebook Credits won’t gain any new uses, this definitely counts as a win for Facebook.

    Alexei Oreskovic reported, "Facebook began selling Facebook Credit gift cards at Target stores earlier this year, but landing on WalMart and Best Buy shelves should vastly expand the availability of its fledgling currency – at the end of 2009, WalMart had more than 3,600 stores in the United States."

    Plus, this isn’t a simple matter of brand presence and mindshare.  Oreskovic noted, "[W]ith Facebook taking a 30 percent cut of the revenue that application-makers book on transactions involving Facebook credits, the more people that are using Credits, the better for Facebook."

    Unfortunately, the specifics of whatever deals Facebook made with Best Buy and Walmart remain unknown, so it’s difficult to say what (if any) price Facebook was willing to pay to get more people using its virtual currency.

  • Walmart Family Mobile Offers Service With No Contracts

    Walmart has announced its own new wireless service brand, placing an emphasis on faimly savings. Walmart will launch Walmart Family Mobile as a post-paid plan available without a contract or multi-year commitment. 
     
    The company says it offers a family of three savings of up to $1,200 a year when compared to leading unlimited talk and text plans. T-Mobile’s network is being used, but the service will be sold exclusively through Walmart. 
     
    The first line is $45 a month, and each additional line is $25 a month. It offers devices from Samsung, Motorola, and Nokia, and includes Android devices. Users can upgrade anytime by purchasing a new device without having to pay extra fees or make contract commitments. 
     
    "Walmart Family Mobile makes it more affordable to build meaningful relationships with family and friends so that even when budgets are limited, time spent communicating with loved ones isn’t," said Greg Hall, vice president of merchandising, Walmart U.S. "This plan provides families with the flexibility to connect with each other without surprise charges and with the added benefit of one of the most trusted wireless network providers."
     
    Walmart Wireless"Walmart is known for great value and we’re pleased to offer our robust network of nationwide coverage for Walmart Family Mobile," said Jim Alling, Chief Operations Officer, T-Mobile USA. "This new service is an innovative approach, offering post-paid customers a low-cost alternative for unlimited voice, messaging, web and inexpensive international calling."
     
    Walmart will begin offering the service on September 20.

  • Walmart To Offer Online Degrees For Its Workers

    Walmart is partnering with American Public University, an online, for profit school, to offer its employees college degrees.

    Walmart and Sam’s Club employees in the U.S. will be able to earn a college degree at a discounted price through a combination of academic credit earned for Walmart job learning and experience, and online course work via APU.

    Dr-Wallace-E-Boston-APU.jpg "We share Walmart’s commitment to enhance America’s competitiveness by helping to increase the number of working Americans with college degrees," said Dr. Wallace E. Boston, Jr., APUS president and CEO.

    "We are honored to be selected by a world-leading organization to promote to their associates the qualities and attributes that are central to our mission."

    Walmart says it surveyed 32,000 of its employees and 72 percent said they preferred an online university over other options. The company says the range of 70 undergraduate degrees that APU offers in an online format makes it a convenient option for its workers.

    Employees will be able to earn job-learning credit in current degree offerings in programs such as management, transportation and logistics, and security management. APU plans to offer new concentrations in related management and other related fields.
     

  • Amazon Ties Walmart In U.S. Online Music Share

    Apple’s iTunes store continues to be the top music retailer, with 28 percent of all music purchased by U.S. consumers, a 4 percent increase since Q1 2009, according to The NPD Group.

    Amazon increased its music market share 3 percent to tie Walmart for the second spot at 12 percent. Sales of digital tracks and albums accounted for 40 percent of overall music market share in the first quarter of 2010, which is a five percent increase since Q1 2009.

    "Amazon’s growth reflects a stronger position in both the CD and digital formats," said Russ Crupnick, vice president of industry analysis for the NPD group.
    Russ-Crupnick-The-NPD-Group.jpg
    "This dual-pronged approach of selling both digital music and CDs helps attract the most valuable and committed music buyer who prefers access to both formats."

    iTune’s share of digital music downloads has remained somewhat flat since Q1 2009, growing just one percent but still dominate with 70 percent of the digital music market. AmazonMP3 grew 4 percent to reach 12 percent, while its share of the CD market grew 2 percent to reach 11 percent.

    In NPD’s review of CD retailers, Walmart led U.S. CD purchases in Q1 2010 with 17 percent share of retail market. Best Buy followed Walmart with 14 percent, Amazon’s 11 percent share positioned it in third place.

    "Unfortunately the decline in U.S. CD sales means that selection and merchandising of the physical CDs is suffering, which is one of the primary reasons consumers say they purchased CDs less frequently," said Crupnick.

    "Online shopping offers consumers who still want CDs more variety than they would get in a brick-and-mortar store; plus, recommendations, and other interactive features that raise the overall value proposition for music buyers. "
     

  • Sprint Introduces Prepaid Offering With Walmart

    Sprint has introduced a new pay-as-you-go service which it will begin offering at Walmart stores on Saturday May 15.

    The new offering called "Common Cents Mobile," one of Sprint’s prepaid brands, includes 7- cent per minute phone calls and 7-cent text messages.

    Common Cents Mobile includes a round down feature, so if a user talks for 1 minute and 46 seconds they will be charged for 1 minute and not 2.

    Common-Cents-Mobile

    "In recent months, consumers seeking no-frills, pay-by-the-minute plans have been somewhat overlooked with the popularity of unlimited plans in the market," said Dan Schulman, president of Sprint’s prepaid group.

    "These customers want to stay connected — to a point — but don’t want to waste time or money on services they don’t use. The addition of Common Cents combines easy-to-use handsets with a simple pay-by-the-minute service that can save them money."

    Common Cents Mobile will be available exclusively at more than 700 Walmart stores.
     

     

  • Walmart And ASPCA Launch Facebook Campaign For Animals

    Walmart has teamed up with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) for a Facebook campaign aimed at saving and improving the lives of animals.

    The campaign encourages Facebook users to visit www.facebook.com/lendapaw to support the ASPCA. Facebook users can click on the "Create a ‘Lend A Paw’ post button, and Walmart’s pet suppliers, will donate $1 for each post (for a total donation of up to $100,000). All funds raised go to support the ASPCA’s mission dedicated to the humane treatment of animals.

    "Pet overpopulation, caused by far too many pets not being spayed or neutered — even by otherwise responsible pet parents — is a leading cause of unnecessary euthanasia," said Elysia Howard, Vice President of Marketing & Licensing for the ASPCA.

    Lend-A-Paw

    "In fact, half of all puppies and three-quarters of all kittens born are from unintended litters. Every dollar raised up to $100,000 through the ‘Lend A Paw’ campaign will help us get one step closer to our goal of helping pets in need. For example, $100,000 would help spay or neuter 1,000 animals."

    According to the ASPCA, approximately five to seven million adoptable dogs and cats enter animal shelters nationwide each year.  Of those 3-4 million are euthanized due to lack of space or resources to adequately care for them.

     

     

  • Online Retail Spending Reaches $39 Billion In Q4

    Online retail spending in the U.S. in the fourth quarter reached $39 billion, a 3 percent increase compared to a year ago, according to the latest report from comScore.

    Total retail ecommerce spending reached $129.8 billion in 2009, slightly lower than the previous year’s total of $130.1 billion.

    "The fourth quarter, with a 3 percent year-over-year growth, helped end what has been a disappointing year for online consumer spending on a more positive note," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

    "As we head into 2010, there is reason for guarded optimism for online retail spending to continue to gain share of consumers’ wallets. At the same time, I expect absolute growth to be stymied by continued high unemployment and the deleveraging that is occurring in the economy as consumers exercise their new found propensity to save."

    Ecommerce-Spending

    The largest online retailers, led by Amazon and Walmart, gained market share of ecommerce sales compared to small and medium-sized retailers.

    Spending growth was driven by an increase in online buyers, while average spending per buyer saw modest declines.

    Other highlights from the report include:

     

    • Free shipping factored into more than 40 percent of e-commerce transactions during the holiday season.
    • Tuesday, December 15 ranked as the heaviest U.S. online spending day in history at $913 million.

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