Analysis and discussion of issues that impact business

It looks like more good news as the Holiday shopping season kicks into full gear. Wal-Mart shoppers got another early Christmas present on Friday when the world’s largest retailer cut prices on appliances a week after slashing them on electronics and before that, toys. Ho, Ho, Ho - it begins. This is becoming a habit. It is the third round so far of holiday discounts at Wal-Mart, which it calls rollbacks. Last Friday, Wal-Mart cut prices on almost 100 electronics items, and in October it introduced discounts on more than 100 toys. The corporate philosophy is simple: “Wal-Mart will continue to roll back the prices of toys, electronics, apparel and more this holiday season to ensure that shoppers can find the season’s best merchandise at one destination at the great prices,” the Bentonville, Ark.-based company said in a statement. In sales it's called a "loss-leader". Get customers in the store with a great price on one item, and hopefully they'll stay around and spend the money they saved on something else. It's a time-tested winner. Consumers everywhere could be the big winners this Christmas. Senior retail analyst Richard D. Hastings with Bernard Sands said Wal-Mart’s discounts could trigger a price war with such rivals as Target Corp., Circuit City Stores Inc., Best Buy Inc., Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., Toys R Us, Linens N Things, Sears Holdings Corp. and Amazon.com. Corporate profits might take it one the nose, but it's better than being left out of the spending frenzy. It seemed to be prudent to Wal-Mart. The discounting moves have come after Wal-Mart reported disappointing October sales and the weakest November outlook in a decade. So, "big box" or not, the world's largest retailer is at it again.