Wal-Mart has unveiled a secret weapon in its battle with giant online retailer Amazon: an army of Santas and other holiday attractions that it hopes will fill its stores with cheer and get registers ringing.
"I want customers to be in awe when they see what we have to offer as they walk into our stores," Wal-Mart Chief Operating Officer Judith McKenna said in a press release describing the "holiday retailtainment" that will greet shoppers, including Christmas carols, amped-up decorations and a photo-ready Santa Claus.
Wal-Mart said the Santas would hold court at 3,600 Supercenters around the U.S.
The retail giant is pulling out all the stops this season after a year that saw e-commerce megalith Amazon overtake Wal-Mart in stock market valuation. Some analysts say Amazon could surpass it as the top U.S. retailer in sales of non-grocery products as early as 2017.
Will the jolly old elf and other attractions help the No. 1 retailer beat back its online competitor? It just might, said Hitha Herzog, chief research officer at H Squared Research.
"Wal-Mart is starting to feel the customer attrition to Amazon, which doesn't have the huge overheads that Wal-Mart does. And even though it's a gimmick, Santa always results in more foot traffic," she said. "Any time you give people a reason to come to the store other than, for example, to buy a television, it's always going to be a draw. When you have someone stay within the confines of your store for a longer time, the percentage of purchases can increase tenfold.