With another Halloween in the books, and an election about to be concluded, many are already turning their attention toward Christmas. And the early word suggests that retail giant Walmart (WMT) is planning to stock fewer goods on its shelves this holiday season.
Don't Miss our Black Friday Offers:
- Unlock your investing potential with TipRanks Premium - Now At 40% OFF!
- Make smarter investments with weekly expert stock picks from the Smart Investor Newsletter
In 2022, Walmart brought in 1.9 million kilograms of goods for Christmas, which includes everything from trees to toys to trimmings. But this year, Walmart will be bringing in just 340,000 kilograms, a massive reduction. This is not unique to Walmart as U.S. companies plan to bring in, on average, 22% fewer goods for the year-end holidays in 2024.
The reason? Consumer budgets are stretched thin by inflation. According to Sizemore Capital Management chief investment officer Charles Sizemore, this means that the holiday season this year is likely be “tepid” at best.
Locked-Up Products
Anyone who has been shopping lately has likely noticed the growing tendency of stores to lock-up easily-shoplifted products. This may be a good idea, but it makes shopping a hassle for customers who may not even bother shopping with the locations that use such tools. Walmart may have a solution: a lock that a consumers can override.
Only employees will have access to the tool at first, but Walmart+ rewards members may get access to it themselves. The tool will found on a mobile app, and will allow users to do their own unlocking, which means a lot less trouble and improved likelihood they will sign-up with the rewards program.
Is Walmart Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on WMT stock based on 27 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 53.81% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WMT price target of $74.11 per share implies 11.31% downside risk.
