Wal-Mart Bridges ‘Blu’ Divide With Best Buy [Archive]

Richard King

12-22-09, 10:32 AM

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/retailers/npd-wal-mart-bridges-blu-divide-with-best-buy-17910
Spurred by aggressive hardware and software discounting, Wal-Mart has caught Best Buy to become one of the top two retailers of Blu-ray Disc movies, according to The NPD Group.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retail behemoth, which already sells the lowest-priced retail Blu-ray player (Magnavox) for $78, beginning Dec. 19 will offer select DVD and Blu-ray titles for less than $4 and $20, respectively.More

Stuart Sweet

12-22-09, 11:10 AM

I suppose my local Wal-Mart is a little behind the times. They devote two endcaps to Blu-ray and one full aisle each to country music and Spanish language music.

hdtvfan0001

12-22-09, 11:15 AM

Yeah - I posted that info in the Movies area as well....

On this topic, I have some "inside information" from time to time.

Walmart sold a ton of Blu Ray players and movies for the holiday season....record numbers. They have been "retooling" their electronics departments nationwide for a number of months, including Blu Ray player and media inventories...

...not all stores have that "retool" done yet...the changes are substantial in both size and quantities of merchandise in that area of their stores. There have beena number of TV ads citing this recently (name brand HDTV's ad) with the larger deparment shown in the background.

Coupled with aggressive sales by Best Buy and Amazon, the whole Blu Ray format has really grown market share in recent months. Look for lower prices still in 2010.

CCarncross

12-22-09, 11:20 AM

I suppose my local Wal-Mart is a little behind the times. They devote two endcaps to Blu-ray and one full aisle each to country music and Spanish language music.

Not necessarily behind the times, probably just catering to your local demographic out there in SoCal...:)

rudeney

12-22-09, 07:13 PM

Not necessarily behind the times, probably just catering to your local demographic out there in SoCal...:)

Walmart definitely caters to the local shoppers. Our daughter and son-in-law lived in a predominantly Mexican community in Atlanta. The signage in their Walmart used Spanish for the main large print with smaller English "subtitles".

Our local Walmart stores have a decent BluRay selection, but nothing to compare to BestBuy.

RobertE

12-22-09, 07:25 PM

Several of the local wally worlds absolutely suck in regards to their blu ray selction. I stopped at one today and they had a dozen, maybe 20 total discs on display. Not titles, total discs. Absolutely sad. They couldn't even make a decent looking half endcap with what they had. :(

hdtvfan0001

12-22-09, 08:17 PM

Walmart definitely caters to the local shoppers. Our daughter and son-in-law lived in a predominantly Mexican community in Atlanta. The signage in their Walmart used Spanish for the main large print with smaller English "subtitles".

Our local Walmart stores have a decent BluRay selection, but nothing to compare to BestBuy.
...and that's not by accident...sounds like the Roswell store....:DSeveral of the local wally worlds absolutely suck in regards to their blu ray selction. I stopped at one today and they had a dozen, maybe 20 total discs on display. Not titles, total discs. Absolutely sad. They couldn't even make a decent looking half endcap with what they had. :(
The retooling of the Electronincs departments are happening at a mthodical pace, a couple stores at a time - big changes involved. I have two new and two "old" layout stores within 20 minutes here.

The layouts and inventories for Blu Ray couldn't be more different. Also, a number of locations sold out inventories on Black Friday, and replacement stock has not yet arrived in a number of places....they simply sold a ton of Blu Ray disks that weekend - many popular titiles at $10 each (such as Monsters, Inc. and UP).

Based on their plans going forward...I'd expect more and more stores to join the "new look" in 2010, and inventories of Blu Ray players and movies to grow - or at least that what's in their plans.

rudeney

12-22-09, 08:46 PM

...and that's not by accident...sounds like the Roswell store....:D

No, Lawrenceville (or one in that general area). After they lived there for a few months, we found we could drive a few miles further down the road to a nice new store that we called the "Black Walmart" because all it's signs were black instead of blue and the floor was a gray and black checkered pattern. It also had no bilingual signage - all English.

The retooling of the Electronincs departments are happening at a mthodical pace, a couple stores at a time - big changes involved. I have two new and two "old" layout stores within 20 minutes here.

The layouts and inventories for Blu Ray couldn't be more different. Also, a number of locations sold out inventories on Black Friday, and replacement stock has not yet arrived in a number of places....they simply sold a ton of Blu Ray disks that weekend - many popular titiles at $10 each (such as Monsters, Inc. and UP).

Based on their plans going forward...I'd expect more and more stores to join the "new look" in 2010, and inventories of Blu Ray players and movies to grow - or at least that what's in their plans.

One nearby store has converted to the new floorplan and it's almost identical to Target except that electronics stayed in the back of the store instead of being off the the left. Personally, I like the new design better as it does not seem as cluttered. My wife hates it because she can feels lost.

hdtvfan0001

12-23-09, 08:49 AM

No, Lawrenceville (or one in that general area). After they lived there for a few months, we found we could drive a few miles further down the road to a nice new store that we called the "Black Walmart" because all it's signs were black instead of blue and the floor was a gray and black checkered pattern. It also had no bilingual signage - all English.
That would have been my second guess. :D
One nearby store has converted to the new floorplan and it's almost identical to Target except that electronics stayed in the back of the store instead of being off the the left. Personally, I like the new design better as it does not seem as cluttered. My wife hates it because she can feels lost.
Also not by accident...the head of that division is a former Target top executive....so you've noticed the two stores are starting to look more alike, huh....they probably call it "innovative"...most call it "copycat". :lol:

But the good news at least Walmart has "discovered" Blu Ray...which was not the case just 12 months ago. Volume and competitive pricing will benefit us consumers on that one.

Cholly

12-23-09, 09:41 AM

Many Walmart stores keep their Blu-ray inventory in locked cases, with only a few lower priced titles in open racks. They learned their lesson fairly early with new release DVD's being stolen. The thieves would take large quantities of DVD's to the women's clothing department in the wee hours. There, they'd remove the DVD's from the cases so they wouldn't activate the anti-theft sensors when they walked out of the store.
I haven't seen any major changes in Electronics departments in the stores in Matthews, Indian Trail or Monroe, NC other than better display of flat screen TV's and more space for Blu-ray players and disks.
As to Walmart emulating Target, I would hope not. Although Target stores may be bright and cheery, their layout is horrible IMHO. The electronics departments in the two Targets near me are not customer friendly. Walmart normally does store upgrades/remodels on a seven year cycle, with minor changes being made as needed.

hdtvfan0001

12-23-09, 03:11 PM

Many Walmart stores keep their Blu-ray inventory in locked cases, with only a few lower priced titles in open racks. As to Walmart emulating Target, I would hope not. Although Target stores may be bright and cheery, their layout is horrible IMHO. The electronics departments in the two Targets near me are not customer friendly. Walmart normally does store upgrades/remodels on a seven year cycle, with minor changes being made as needed.
The layout is changing, and has changed in a number of stores already.

The rollout of the "retooling" of electronics departments will take many months to cover the majority of stores nationwide.

As for the Target influence...yeah....I'm not fond of it either.

This is a major remodel plan...much sooner than any 7-year itch...its already well underway (I'm told over 350 stores are done, and another 200+ underway.)

Blu Ray media will be very obvious in the new layouts...and prices at Walmart and Best Buy both being driven down by competition and growing market acceptance volumes. Last week alone, over $79.5 million in Blu Ray disks were sold by all retailers.

rudeney

12-23-09, 09:41 PM

But the good news at least Walmart has "discovered" Blu Ray...which was not the case just 12 months ago. Volume and competitive pricing will benefit us consumers on that one.

I hardly ever buy movies at Walmart because they are almost always more expensive than BestBuy, especially new releases. Now, if you're talking about the discount bin titles, yes, Walmart can have some deals, but you also have to be careful as I've found many of those DVD's are 4:3 conversions. Of course that won't be an issue with BD.

hdtvfan0001

12-23-09, 09:42 PM

I hardly ever buy movies at Walmart because they are almost always more expensive than BestBuy, especially new releases. Now, if you're talking about the discount bin titles, yes, Walmart can have some deals, but you also have to be careful as I've found many of those DVD's are 4:3 conversions. Of course that won't be an issue with BD.
Interesting..the Blu Ray prices here at Walmart are almost always cheaper...and I then buy at Best Buy with price match....getting my "points" in the reqards program there. Once in a while, Best Buy has the lower price, but not all that often.

dodge boy

12-23-09, 09:47 PM

Walmart normally does store upgrades/remodels on a seven year cycle, with minor changes being made as needed.

I work for an HVAC company (Project Engineer) and we are bidding a boat load of Wal-Mart rennovations, mostly in the Philly Jersey area first now closer to and some in Ohio.... I've plotted some Sam's Clubs to for our estimator the past couple days......

dodge boy

12-23-09, 09:51 PM

Interesting..the Blu Ray prices here at Walmart are almost always cheaper...and I then buy at Best Buy with price match....getting my "points" in the reqards program there. Once in a while, Best Buy has the lower price, but not all that often.

I don't care if something is more I always go to Best Buy. It's worth it to me to not have to talk or accidentally bump into the low lifes that go to the Wal-Mart stores around here. I was in one once, floors were filthy, White trash women letting their kids play with toys off the shelves in the isles. If they won't ban the riff raff I won't spend a dime there. I'll pay double to not have to deal with that, I'm not poor.

rudeney

12-23-09, 10:49 PM

I don't care if something is more I always go to Best Buy. It's worth it to me to not have to talk or accidentally bump into the low lifes that go to the Wal-Mart stores around here. I was in one once, floors were filthy, White trash women letting their kids play with toys off the shelves in the isles. If they won't ban the riff raff I won't spend a dime there. I'll pay double to not have to deal with that, I'm not poor.

Must be where you live - our Walmart is mostly full of soccer moms. The problem with that is most of them don't know how to park their Range Rovers and G-Wagons in less than 2.5 parking spaces. :D

paulman182

12-24-09, 05:36 AM

dodge boy

12-24-09, 05:49 AM

Must be where you live - our Walmart is mostly full of soccer moms. The problem with that is most of them don't know how to park their Range Rovers and G-Wagons in less than 2.5 parking spaces. :D

The nearest Walmart is in Warren Ohio and is about 10 miles away and like I said with a line like "Save money, Live better" they attract some whackos, actually I find better prices at Best Buy in Niles and it is about 1.5 miles from my house. I don't go to the Boardman store, I try to stay out of Mahoning County, unless I am at work. Do a Google I just gave you a bunch of key areas around here :)

If I can get free shipping I do most of my purchases online anyway... I'm kind of a recluse....

Matman

12-24-09, 09:53 AM

I get a lot of my Blu Rays on Amazon, 90% of the time they have free shipping, and the prices are pretty hard to beat. Our Best Buy here isn't very competitive, there isn't alot to compete against.......

hdtvfan0001

12-24-09, 10:30 AM

I don't care if something is more I always go to Best Buy. It's worth it to me to not have to talk or accidentally bump into the low lifes that go to the Wal-Mart stores around here. I was in one once, floors were filthy, White trash women letting their kids play with toys off the shelves in the isles. If they won't ban the riff raff I won't spend a dime there. I'll pay double to not have to deal with that, I'm not poor.
I always buy my Blu Rays at Best Buy...but with price-match pricing (Walmart, Fry's or even sometimes Target are often less). That way, I get the lowest price (which is often at or lower than Amazon, by the way), and also keep my Reward Zone points....which ends up actually amounting to a further discount on future purchases later.

Cholly

12-24-09, 12:04 PM

I'm selective in my Blu-ray purchases. If there's a movie that I'm sure to watch several times, I'll buy it, and I'll get it where I can get the best price, whether it be Best Buy, Target, Walmart or Amazon. If I'm only mildly interested, it'll be in my Netflix queue. Only in rare instances will I go to Blockbuster for a rental.

stilen621

12-25-09, 10:07 PM

Cholly

12-26-09, 11:03 AM

Walmart had a less than happy experience selling Dish Network equipment (RCA branded) in the nineties. Unscrupulous dealers were buying entire inventories of Dish hardware from stores within 1-- miles of the Canadian border and selling the hardware to folks in Canada. This may have some bearing on their not carrying dish hardware today.

Nick

12-26-09, 01:47 PM

Boy, if ya can't trust hosers, who can ya trust?

Christopher Gould

12-26-09, 03:48 PM

Why doesnt D** let WallyWorld sell thier wares ? I would think more exposure. Maybe the income of the person who shops there verses the Costco/Best buy crowd ? I don`t mean anything discriminatory by that either, no offense intended

walmart has sold D* in the past 8-10 years ago and I believe they carry D* brochures in the electronics dept now.

hdtvfan0001

12-29-09, 07:25 AM

walmart has sold D* in the past 8-10 years ago and I believe they carry D* brochures in the electronics dept now.
Nope.

If you saw brochures...then they must be old, old ones that surfaced from behind a display that got moved around or something. :D

No plans for DirecTV sales in Walmart at this time. My wife works for the company that supplies all the products in the electronics area...not in the cards at this time.

That's not to say they wouldn't in the future....but as of right now....nope.

Herdfan

12-29-09, 07:31 AM

I get a lot of my Blu Rays on Amazon,

I can't imagine there is any way WM has passed Amazon. As many have noted, our WM has maybe an endcap of titles (they did have Julie & Julia which BB didn't). Our BB probably has more BR titles than DVD.

hdtvfan0001

12-29-09, 07:38 AM

I can't imagine there is any way WM has passed Amazon. As many have noted, our WM has maybe an endcap of titles (they did have Julie & Julia which BB didn't). Our BB probably has more BR titles than DVD.
Imagine it.

There have been several hundred stores already remodeled, where Blu Ray is much more than an end-cap presentation. More store re-toolings are underway as well.

But now that the holiday season is over, and the $10 or less new Blu Ray titles have passed for now...they have work ahead of them if they intend to keep any kind of momentum.

As with almost anything else....their #1 sales tool will be price.

That will also spurn Best Buy and Amazon to feature lower prices as well.

201 should be a great year for Blu Ray, in terms of both deals and volume sales. Alot of new BD players were sold too this past holiday season.

Stuart Sweet

12-29-09, 08:06 AM

hdtvfan0001

12-29-09, 08:12 AM

Well, I believe all of you when you say this massive retooling is going on. It's just not going on near me.

I happened into the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Beaumont, CA, with its huge electronics department. This was easily twice the size of my local Wal-Mart and the electronics department was clean and well-stocked... with other stuff. The Blu-ray section was one half of one shelf.

Maybe someday, Wal-Mart, but not today.
Unfortunate. Guess I'm luck that 3 of the 5 in my immediate area are done.

The new "retooled" electronics departments are actually featured in their more recent holiday commercials (in the background)....can't miss the big and bright blue signage.

The store rollouts will continue throughout 2010.

Stuart Sweet

12-29-09, 08:20 AM

This Wal-Mart had big bright blue signage and no big bright blu-rays.

hdtvfan0001

12-29-09, 08:23 AM

This Wal-Mart had big bright blue signage and no big bright blu-rays.
The new electronnics department is also twice the size of the "old" footprint.

elaclair

12-29-09, 09:58 AM

I happened upon one here in the San Diego area that's been re-tooled....the difference is night and day. The not done store looked like, well, Wal-Mart. The re-tooled store looked more like a compressed Best Buy. Of course I'm just talking about the electronics section. The rest of the store is still mass-market in nature, but does look "refreshed".

hdtvfan0001

12-29-09, 11:06 AM

paulman182

12-30-09, 06:37 AM

I can't imagine there is any way WM has passed Amazon. As many have noted, our WM has maybe an endcap of titles (they did have Julie & Julia which BB didn't). Our BB probably has more BR titles than DVD.

But chances are the vast majority of today's BD sales are comprised of the titles that Wal-Mart carries on that end cap(mostly new releases, AFAIK.)

Stuart Sweet

12-30-09, 08:09 AM

hdtvfan0001

12-30-09, 08:21 AM

Well I hate to keep being a downer in this thread but...

I saw a commercial for Wal-Mart yesterday. The electronics department looked beautiful. Has anyone seen this commercial and also seen a real electronics department that looks like this?
Yes, and I've seen 3 such electronics departments in my area that look liked the commercial.

Walmart has removed some sewing/linens department space so that they can almost double the room for the electronics area.

The new layout features 2 checkout areas, and a very wide display of HDTVs in the background, along with 2 sections of Blu Rays, as well as 1 for players back near the HDTV wall.

More important, as their inventories have grown...and with price matching common at Walmart, Fry's, and Best Buy - you can pick your favorite store and get the best price every time. Competition is good.

Stuart Sweet

12-30-09, 08:26 AM

I guess I will have to be patient then.

RobertE

12-30-09, 03:28 PM

Well I hate to keep being a downer in this thread but...

I saw a commercial for Wal-Mart yesterday. The electronics department looked beautiful. Has anyone seen this commercial and also seen a real electronics department that looks like this?

It's all fake. :) Just like any of the fast food commericals. When's the last time you've seen a BigMac, Whopper or Subway sub look ANYTHING close to whats in the picture or on TV? :(

Some of the wally worlds around here are beyond horrible. I'll cut the toy dept some slack due to the holidays, but most of the time I stroll through, it looks like someone just backed up a dump truck and dumped toys on the shelves. The rest of the deptartments are slightly better. :nono2:

hdtvfan0001

12-30-09, 03:30 PM

It's all fake. :) Just like any of the fast food commericals. When's the last time you've seen a BigMac, Whopper or Subway sub look ANYTHING close to whats in the picture or on TV? :(

Some of the wally worlds around here are beyond horrible. I'll cut the toy dept some slack due to the holidays, but most of the time I stroll through, it looks like someone just backed up a dump truck and dumped toys on the shelves. The rest of the deptartments are slightly better. :nono2:
Yeah...but you're in Cleveland...............Cleveland..........:D:D:D

RobertE

12-30-09, 03:34 PM

Yeah...but you're in Cleveland...............Cleveland..........:D:D:D

Ironicly, the ones in "da'hood" are typically better than those out in the 'burbs. Go figure. :confused:

It's been the same at all the stores I've been in throughout OH, IN, MI, KS, FL, NJ & PA.

hdtvfan0001

12-30-09, 03:37 PM

Ironicly, the ones in "da'hood" are typically better than those out in the 'burbs. Go figure. :confused:

It's been the same at all the stores I've been in throughout OH, IN, MI, KS, FL, NJ & PA.
Just jazzin'

But I believe they are starting in the SouthEast first, as I've seen them now in FL, GA, NC, SC, and AL.

They are actually pretty nice looking, actually organized (for the first time), and present both hardware and software in an appealing way (also new).

From my information...they are in the electronics, Blu Ray, and other such media for the long haul.

olguy

12-30-09, 05:11 PM

Walmart has removed some sewing/linens department space so that they can almost double the room for the electronics area.

And that really made Mrs Olguy very unhappy with Wallyworld. She threatened to take her business to Target :lol:

Richierich

12-31-09, 05:34 AM

They just remodeled the Super Walmart here in Peachtree City, Ga. (just South of Atlanta) and it really looks Great. Fantastic looking Electronics area featuring lots of HDTVs, DVDs, etc.

hdtvfan0001

12-31-09, 10:00 AM

And that really made Mrs Olguy very unhappy with Wallyworld. She threatened to take her business to Target :lol:
Ironically...the new executive in charge of store content and design is a former Target senior exec.

It's not an accident that the new Walmart look and feel (bigger signs, wider aisles, etc.) remind people of target.