Holiday Retail Match-Up: Wal-Mart vs. Amazon... Who Will Come Out on Top?
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Two retail giants that have seemingly grown tired of throwing punches at the competition in their own markets are now facing off head-to-head as the holiday shopping season picks up steam.
Big-box discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and online one-stop shop Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) are engaged in a price war that could end up as the biggest story to come out of the busiest shopping season of the year.
The battle started last month when the two retailers began a highly publicized battle to see who could have the lowest price on the newest books and DVDs coming out this fall. Now the two are going back and forth on toys, video games and mobile phones.
In perhaps the most evident sign of the two trying to keep up with each other, Wal-Mart dropped the price of its Easy Bake Oven from Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) to $17 from $28 as a part of its Black Friday deals. Wasting no time, Amazon dropped its similar $28 sticker price for the Oven to a competitive $18. Now, parents will have an option on where to get a good deal the 45-year old toy that is certain to bring brownies undercooked by a light bulb into homes across the country this holiday.
The two companies are fundamentally different and Amazon poses no real threat to Wal-Mart and its 4,000 stores. Lately the lines that divide the two are becoming blurred. Wal-Mart is expanding its online services in an effort to not cede any of its sales, which last year totaled $405 billion.
Amazon is punching back as it now offers same day shipping on its merchandise in seven cities to give the consumer some of the instant gratification that they receive from shopping in a store. Amazon is also looking to increase profit margin with expanding its white-labeling program by branding products with the company’s image. Amazon is leading the E-Commerce revolution which currently only hold 4 percent of the retail market share, but is growing rapidly among those consumers who would rather point and click, rather than venture to overcrowded stores.
Among the items being tussled over by the two companies are video games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which Wal-Mart started selling with a $15 gift card, an offer that Amazon soon thereafter matched. Similarly both companies are now selling Xbox 360 gaming consoles for $199 with a $100 gift card, as well as the new Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) Pixi phone for $30, $175 off retail price.
As the two companies continue to grow and evolve it is clear that the competition will continue. As for this holiday season consumers will have plenty of deals to choose from as things heat up.
Shares for Wal-Mart are trading nearly even with the start of the day, up 0.31 percent to $55.02. Amazon is down a fraction to $132.84.
Big-box discount retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and online one-stop shop Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) are engaged in a price war that could end up as the biggest story to come out of the busiest shopping season of the year.
The battle started last month when the two retailers began a highly publicized battle to see who could have the lowest price on the newest books and DVDs coming out this fall. Now the two are going back and forth on toys, video games and mobile phones.
In perhaps the most evident sign of the two trying to keep up with each other, Wal-Mart dropped the price of its Easy Bake Oven from Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) to $17 from $28 as a part of its Black Friday deals. Wasting no time, Amazon dropped its similar $28 sticker price for the Oven to a competitive $18. Now, parents will have an option on where to get a good deal the 45-year old toy that is certain to bring brownies undercooked by a light bulb into homes across the country this holiday.
The two companies are fundamentally different and Amazon poses no real threat to Wal-Mart and its 4,000 stores. Lately the lines that divide the two are becoming blurred. Wal-Mart is expanding its online services in an effort to not cede any of its sales, which last year totaled $405 billion.
Amazon is punching back as it now offers same day shipping on its merchandise in seven cities to give the consumer some of the instant gratification that they receive from shopping in a store. Amazon is also looking to increase profit margin with expanding its white-labeling program by branding products with the company’s image. Amazon is leading the E-Commerce revolution which currently only hold 4 percent of the retail market share, but is growing rapidly among those consumers who would rather point and click, rather than venture to overcrowded stores.
Among the items being tussled over by the two companies are video games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which Wal-Mart started selling with a $15 gift card, an offer that Amazon soon thereafter matched. Similarly both companies are now selling Xbox 360 gaming consoles for $199 with a $100 gift card, as well as the new Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) Pixi phone for $30, $175 off retail price.
As the two companies continue to grow and evolve it is clear that the competition will continue. As for this holiday season consumers will have plenty of deals to choose from as things heat up.
Shares for Wal-Mart are trading nearly even with the start of the day, up 0.31 percent to $55.02. Amazon is down a fraction to $132.84.
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