Prices are higher during holidays This holiday season coming up, all the matter is the prices. Halloween is only a week away and two more months until Christmas. The stores are desperately trying to outdo each other by hoping this would draw customers worn down by the economy. The biggest store in the nation, Wal-Mart, had also joined the price wars Monday (today). Wal-Mart announced that they would give gift cards to shoppers if they buy an item there and then find it later somewhere else cheaper. Staples and Bed Bath & Beyond said they would match the lowest prices of Amazon.com and other bug Internet retailers. However, Sears is going further by offering to beat a competitor’s best price by 10 percent. Dave Ratner, owner of Dave’s Soda & Pet City said, “The days of marketing the stuff in your store because it was a hot brand are over.” Ratner is planning to offer 20 percent off pet accessories if the customer buys a bag of dog food for the holidays. The customers want a deal to buy an item. It’s been nearly four years after the onset of the Great Recession, which they have learned to expect one, too. There have been betters time, retailers could afford to keep prices higher and use promises of high quality and with a better service to lure people into stores. Whatsoever, those days are sadly over. ‘In the recent poll of 1,000 shoppers by America’s Research Group, 78 percent said they were more driven by sales than they were a year ago. During the financial meltdown in 2008, that figure was only 68 percent,” by Anne D’Innocenzio.
Since last year, Wal-Mart went back to its “everyday low prices” by the philosophy of founder Sam Walton, rather than slashing prices only on certain items to draw the attention to the customers. But now everyday low prices might not be low enough to people. So, Wal-Mart is trying something new, Christmas Price Guarantee. The way it will work, if you buy something at Wal-Mart from November 1 to December 25 and find the identical product elsewhere for less, the customer will get a gif t card in the amount of the difference. The deal is excludes online prices and some categories of merchandise, groceries, live plants, tobacco, prescription drugs and wireless devices that require a service agreement. But this is a good thing if weeks pass between your purchase and spotting the better deal. It also applies to the big items like TVs, for the prices to drop steeply as Christmas approaches. The chief merchandising officer of Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores, Duncan MacNaughton, told the reporters “much more promotional intensity and gimmicks.” Toys R Us’ holiday offers will packed this year with $8,000 of saving, compared with $5,600 last year said Bob Friedland, the company spokesman. It has added an incentive this year, if the customers who sign up for its loyalty program spend $200 or more during the holiday season. They will get coupons on toys every month next year. The retailers are responding to the customers’ base that is better to inform, and more comfortable shopping online, than ever. A cardiac nurse from Bloomigton, Jenna Wahl, said she will spend about as much on holiday gifts this year as last but will try to get more for her money. She has been asking stores to do more price matching and plans to use her iPhone to check prices and download coupons. She will try to take things back in order to