Source: kmart.com
November began yesterday and retailers wasted no time in touting the great savings, exclusive offers and special events they have planned for the Christmas selling season.
For some — you know who you are, Amazon and Walmart — the grand announcements projecting success seem like bold statements of fact. For others — sorry, Kmart and Sears — the plans may sound positive, but it’s hard not to read some desperation into the press announcements.
Here’s a brief overview of what these retailers are planning for the season — ho, ho, yes or no.
Amazon.com – The e-tailing giant kicked off the holiday season yesterday with the opening of its Black Friday Deals Store, which offers discounts on products across every category on the site now through Black Friday.
“Some of the most popular starting points for holiday shoppers are our Black Friday Deals Store, Amazon’s curated Home and Electronics Gift Guides, the Holiday Toy List, the newly redesigned Gift Finder, our Handmade Gift Shop, and Interesting Finds.”
Walmart – The world’s largest retailer, as covered on RetailWire yesterday, plans to focus on bringing some joy along with its low prices to stores this holiday season. The chain plans a series of three themed parties beginning this Saturday with a “Toys that Rock” event that will take place at more than 20,000 Supercenters total during the season. Santa is also planning to make 24,000 visits to Walmart’s stores between this weekend and Christmas.
Sears and Kmart – CNBC reports that everything is going on sale at the two struggling chains. The retailers are promising “first-of-their-kind” discounts that range from 10 to 50 percent off at Sears and 10 to 40 percent off at Kmart. The promotion, which kicked off yesterday, will run through Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
"We will have deals in every nook and cranny of the store," Kelly Cook, chief marketing officer of Sears and Kmart, told CNBC.
Sears, which recently announced the return of its “Wish Book” holiday gift catalog, will also offer curbside pickup and free “cash” Shop Your Way points. Kmart is turning on Bluelight Specials to bring some added excitement to shopping in its stores.