Walmart

It may only be the first week of November, but American shoppers are steadily crossing items off of their holiday shopping lists.   As of the end of September, one-third (33%) of consumers had already started their holiday shopping, up significantly from 25% in 2015. Further, they expect to spend an average of $908, an 8% increase from last year ($839 in 2015). Among affluent consumers, this threshold increases to an average of $1,513.  

Walmart is expanding its mobile payment options.   Walmart will accept Chase Pay on Walmart.com, through the Walmart mobile app, and in its stores through the app’s Walmart Pay feature. The digital payment solution allows shoppers to make secure digital payments in-store and online while earning rewards and receiving offers. Chase Pay also protects the customer through token technology, which utilizes one-time complex codes to process transactions and keep credit and debit card information secure.  

Walmart’s $3.3 billion purchase of e-commerce startup jet.com has spurred a shakeup across the retail giant’s digital operations.      Exiting the chain are Fernando Madeira, president and CEO of Walmart.com, and Dianne Mills, senior VP of global e-commerce human resources. (As previously announced, Neil Ashe, president and CEO of global e-commerce, is also leaving).   

Two of the nation’s largest retailers shared the No. 1 position in a ranking of the top U.S. retailers.    Walmart and Kroger Co. tied for first place (in the overall composite score) in Kantar Retail’s 2016 Retailer PoweRanking. The ranking is designed to identify the retailers currently setting the highest standards of performance as viewed by their trading partners, and to gain insight into what makes these retailers "best in class."  

DLC Management Corp.’s joint acquisition of 16 properties with DRA Advisors this month increased the square footage of its portfolio by 26% and its dollar value by 17%. DLC president and CEO Adam Ifshin aims to increase that dollar contribution in the years to come.    “We don’t buy value-add properties and baby-sit them,” he told Chain Store Age. “We come to them with a business plan and ask ourselves ‘How do we add value?’”  

With Halloween now behind us, the unofficial start of the 2016 retail holiday season is upon us. Amid intensifying competition, where are retailers placing their bets?     Here are observations and expectations from Profitero for the critical fourth quarter seasonal period:   

Walmart is testing new technology that could revolutionize the way customers pick up purchases they ordered online.     The discounter has installed a giant machine in a store in Bentonville, Ark., close to its headquarters, that automatically distributes online orders to users of Walmart's  buy-online-pickup-in-store service, reported Business Insider.   The machine is located directly inside the store's entrance.   

Regardless of when retailers start their sales, Black Friday weekend is shaping up to feature the biggest deals yet.   According to BlackFriday.fm, a website that tracks the best Black Friday deals, news, and ad scans, “the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are going to be bigger than ever this year, “ said Rene Kirschbaum, director of BlackFriday.fm.   Among the retailers to watch include: