While many are planning to go roaming the neighborhoods for candy or just showing off their costumes tonight, the plain and simple is that November is about to start. And that means the holiday shopping season is kicking off. Retail giant Walmart (WMT) has already revealed some of its sale plans, and shareholders were just as enthusiastic, sending shares up in Thursday afternoon’s trading. Indeed, Axios noted that the first of two Black Friday sales will kick off on Veteran’s Day, November 11.
This is actually significantly behind retail giant Target (TGT), which will begin its sales on November 1. While stores were already starting to back off on the Black Friday concept thanks to the rise of online shopping, the COVID-19 pandemic sped that process along, making businesses interested in more deals throughout the holiday season.
Further, this Black Friday will also mark the introduction of Walmart’s artificial intelligence (AI) shopping assistant. A PYMNTS report noted that the new system will provide “personalized shopping solutions,” with the example of a customer shopping for board games. Such a shopper would then be shown new deals, as well as other gift ideas related to their previous purchase.
A (Tiny) House for Christmas?
In an unexpected twist, Walmart will now start offering entire houses for sale. Tiny houses, that is, as it gets together with Chery Industrial, according to a report from Newsweek. Retailing for $15,900, the tiny home in question is a 19 x 20-foot affair, though it comes with a few caveats.
For instance, those who buy one of these will have to build it themselves from a kit; no assembly is apparently offered with this one. Plus, those who do buy one will either need a crane or a forklift on hand, as Walmart ships these by flatbed truck.
Just to top it off, these tiny homes are not especially durable; the tiny home can withstand winds of up to 70 miles per hour, but will need a concrete foundation to do so. Meanwhile, its roof can handle heavy snow, but it is recommended it be abandoned in the event of a blizzard, as well as a flood, hurricane, or tornado.
Is Walmart Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
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 51.4% rally in its share price over the past year, the average WMT price target of $74.11 per share implies 9.93% downside risk.
