Advice For Walmart: 20000 Holiday Parties Is A Good Start

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Walmart has a number of plans in place to drive sales during the holiday season, including an expanded assortment of products in stores and online and free two-day shipping on millions of items. “Holiday helpers” will be positioned in stores to help customers find the shortest checkout line, pick up orders ordered online and more. Walmart also plans to throw more than 20,000 parties at its Supercenters throughout the season.

The parties, each with an individual theme, will kick off this weekend with a “Toys that Rock” celebration. Customers who stop by a Walmart on Saturday, Nov. 4 will get a copy of the retailer’s annual toys catalog along with stickers for kids to use to tag their favorites.

In the toy departments, kids will be invited to play with hot toys for the holiday and take selfies with Santa. Saint Nick will have a busy season at Walmart. The retailer says he’ll be making 24,000 visits to chain stores during the season.

The second themed in-store celebration Walmart has planned is “Parties that Rock.” At the event, scheduled for Dec. 2, the retailer will provide tips for customers who want to throw holiday parties that will be remembered well past the New Year.

The third party, named “Gifts that Rock” and scheduled for Dec. 16, will feature displays of curated assortments of top gifts.

The retailer is placing greater emphasis on product demonstrations with more than 165,000 planned during the season. Expanded product assortment, holiday helpers, parties and demos are all part of Walmart’s plan to double-down on its in-store experience, according to Walmart’s chief marketing officer Tony Rogers (via USA Today).

"Walmart’s in-store parties and demonstration events are a great way to increase store traffic and sales," commented Ken Morris, principal strategist at Boston Retail Partners, in a RetailWire online discussion last week. "Consumers love the theater of shopping and getting kids excited about the latest new toys will spur more items from Walmart on Christmas wish lists and ultimately result in incremental sales for Walmart."

Other RetailWire BrainTrust panelists agreed that in-store parties are a great way for Walmart to elevate their customers' visits during the holidays.

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

Walmart has a number of plans in place to drive sales during the holiday season, including an expanded assortment of products in stores and online and free two-day shipping on millions of items. “Holiday helpers” will be positioned in stores to help customers find the shortest checkout line, pick up orders ordered online and more. Walmart also plans to throw more than 20,000 parties at its Supercenters throughout the season.

The third party, named “Gifts that Rock” and scheduled for Dec. 16, will feature displays of curated assortments of top gifts.

Other RetailWire BrainTrust panelists agreed that in-store parties are a great way for Walmart to elevate their customers' visits during the holidays.

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