Walmart is hoping to squash the competition (cough, cough, Amazon) and make its stores more fun this holiday season by rolling out the deals, ramping up convenience, and throwing parties. Lots of parties.
The retail giant is hoping to attract shoppers who are expected to spend more this holiday season... especially those who seem to have made the shift to increasingly shopping online.
Shoppers who get off the couch and venture out to Walmart will be able to take selfies with Santa and get personal assistance from Walmart's holiday helpers.
While the helpers were on hand last year, they will take on the additional tasks this year such as:
- Helping customers retrieve gifts ordered from Walmart.com
- Guiding them through the store's busiest sections
- Steering them to the shortest line when they're ready to check out
For the first time ever, Walmart will also host more than 20,000 holiday parties at its Supercenters. The first fetes, kicking off this Saturday, will have catalogs and stickers so the littlest shoppers can note what they want to find under the tree.
During these parties, they will also increase the number of product demonstrations and expand the role of employees in the toys and electronics departments.
Walmart is the latest retailer to announce its plans to woo shoppers. The retailer's other party themes will focus on holiday entertaining and the most popular presents this season.