It's not even Halloween yet but numerous retailers, including Walmart, KB Toys, Target and Meijer, have made it clear that price is more important than ever for this Christmas selling season and none intends to cede the low price ground to the competition.
Walmart started off by announcing it was lowering the price on 10 top toys, including Barbie and some Hot Wheels sets, to $10.
M. Eric Johnson, a Dartmouth College professor, told The Wall Street Journal that Walmart's announcement marked a departure from past rollbacks.
"It feels more laser-focused, strategic kinds of moves to drive behavior, but not the good, old Wal-Mart that cuts prices everywhere," he said.
KB followed Walmart's announcement by saying it was dropping its price on 200 popular toys to $10. Target also sought to project a low price image by dropping prices on selected toys it sells that were on the Walmart list.
Just this week, Meijer announced it was cutting prices on 300 popular toys sold in its stores.
David Stickney, merchandise manager for toys at Meijer, said in a press release, "While we know this is one of the toughest economic climates our customers have faced in recent years, everyone at Meijer is working hard to help customers save money and still be able to enjoy the gift-giving aspect of the season."
Discussion Questions: Will retailers sell toys differently this holiday season than in past years? Can retailers, for example, afford to use toys as a loss leader?