Determined to win shoppers' hearts -- and wallets -- at Thanksgiving, Walmart is cutting prices on turkeys and other traditional fixings, as well as on flat-panel TVs.
U.S. stores are selling whole, 12-pound (5.4-kilogram) turkeys for 40 cents a pound starting today, Walmart said in a statement. That's a third of last Thanksgiving's average price in a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation in Washington.
Starting Nov. 7, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer will sell a Hewlett-Packard Co. notebook computer for $298; a 42-inch (107-centimeters) Sharp Corp. flat-panel TV for $498, down $270 from its regular price, and a 46-inch model, which usually sells for $1,158, for $698, according to Walmart.
The company will cut prices weekly as consumers, pinched by job losses, delay holiday purchases, John Fleming, chief merchandising officer, told analysts Oct. 21. Groceries accounted for 49 percent of U.S. stores sales last year, followed by electronics and other entertainment items, which generated 13 percent of revenue, according to an annual securities filing.
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Walmart said it reduced prices on seven items, including turkey, canned vegetables, cranberry sauce, stuffing, a five-pound bag of red potatoes, dinner rolls and a pumpkin roll cake, for a $20 dinner serving eight people. Thanksgiving, officially the fourth Thursday of November, is on November 26 this year.
The National Retail Federation conducted a poll in which 43% of respondents said that they will decide where to shop based on who has the best discounts this holiday season. Store loyalty is out the window: it's all about who has the best deals. Clearly, Walmart is determined to be the store with the best deals.
