Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

There will be no escaping the long arm of Walmart’s marketing efforts this holiday season as the retail reminds shoppers it has the lowest prices on the broadest assortment of merchandise. Chief merchandising office Duncan Mac Naughton is making sure of that, and on Wednesday he outlined all of the ways the company plans to communicate with shoppers in the months ahead.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation Wednesday said that legislation introduced in the House to repeal debit card swipe fee reform would cost consumers more than $6 billion a year in savings that merchants plan to pass along to their customers.

Promotions during September saw mixed outcome with some retailers increasing the number of pages and inserts, while the rest decreased the volume of promotions. The contrasting promotional strategies among the retailers led to the overall change being minimal. 

Like August, the largest decrease was Lowes, which saw a 61% drop in number of number of pages per market and 54% decline in inserts per market. This was a result of Lowes not having promotions in the second and third week of both August and September.

By Mark Friedman, [email protected]

It is still very early in the holiday season and anything could happen from a pricing perspective. However, with that as a caveat, it appears Target and Walmart are in a virtual dead heat when it comes to toy pricing, according to a survey by Citigroup’s senior retail analyst Deb Weinswig.

Target’s toy catalog is set for release on Nov. 1 and will feature an expanded assortment displayed across eight additional pages with discount coupons for savings of more than $350.

To help busy parents stay organized during the holiday season, the toy catalog focuses on list building and includes checkboxes next to every item, and a special tear-out list for kids to complete. According to the company, it is offering nearly 7,000 toys online and in stores and will offer discounts on 2,000 of those items throughout the season.

New York City -- An overwhelming majority (72%) of U.S. consumers expect their holiday spending to be “careful” or “controlled” in 2011, according to Accenture’s annual consumer holiday shopping study. Discounts, sales and prices are still top of mind this holiday, with 40% of consumers saying an item being on sale is the single most important factor in their decision to purchase.

NEW YORK — An overwhelming majority (72%) of U.S. consumers expect their holiday spending to be “careful” or “controlled” in 2011, according to Accenture’s annual consumer holiday shopping study. Discounts, sales and prices are still top of mind this holiday, with 40% of consumers saying an item being on sale is the single most important factor in their decision to purchase.