If store shelves seem a little less festive than usual this year, don’t blame the Grinch – Walmart and other major retailers are importing fewer Christmas goods this year as they prepare to face a lukewarm holiday shopping season.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has shipped at least 340,000 kilos of products described as Christmas goods into the US in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, according to ImportYeti import data provided to Reuters.
That amount is less than half the 980,000 kilos shipped in the same period last year, according to the data.
And in 2022, Walmart imported more than 1.9 million kilos of Christmas products in the same 12-month period, according to ImportYeti.
A Walmart spokesperson said the data “only paints a partial picture” of its sourced goods.
The company’s executives will share its holiday outlook on Nov. 19, when Walmart reports its third-quarter results.
Charles Sizemore, chief investment officer at Walmart investor Sizemore Capital Management, said Walmart has been researching shopper spending data.
“If Walmart is ordering less, they are expecting sales to be tepid,” he said.
US retail sales unexpectedly rose in September and recent inflation reports have shown signs of further cooling. Consumer sentiment rose for the third month in a row to its highest reading since April, according to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers.
But shoppers – hit hard by sticky inflation – have seen their savings dwindle thanks to sky-high prices and have continued to cut back on discretionary spending.
Some 56% of US consumers noted concerns about being able to pay for this holiday season, according to an EY Holiday Shopping Survey that studied 1,000 consumers in the US. That number rose to 61% of Gen Z consumers in the US.
“Though consumer sentiment is more positive, wallets are still squeezed, making shoppers more intentional with their purchases,” Greg Zakowicz, senior e-commerce expert at Omnisend, a marketing automation platform for e-commerce sites, told The Post.
“Because of this, we may actually see more self-purchasing and big buys happen around Black Friday as consumers intentionally look for the best bang for the buck with big buy purchases like furniture and TVs and on products they can predicatively stock up on, such as clothing,” Zakowicz said.
Walmart is already trying to sway hesitant holiday shoppers to make purchases with lower prices and more deals. The company’s average price point for toys is $40.16 this season, 10% lower than last year.
Retailers, aware that consumers are less likely to splurge this year, want to avoid being stuck with excess Christmas goods.
US companies, including Walmart, Dollar General and other major retailers, shipped in about the same amount of Christmas goods by weight this year as they did last year, according to ImportYeti.
US retailers imported about 141 million kilos of Christmas goods in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, compared to 180 million kilos of products in the same period in 2022, according to the data.
Holiday spending is expected to grow between 2.5% and 3.5%, according to the US National Retail Federation. That prediction represents the slowest rate of growth since 2018, when holiday sales ticked up just 1.8%.
As companies aim to slim down expenses, retailers are also expected to hire fewer holiday workers this year compared to last year.
“Many retailers are indeed anticipating lower revenue and profit margins compared to previous years, primarily due to lingering inflation and high consumer debt,” Michael Barbera, chief behavioral officer at Clicksuasian Labs, a marketing agency focused on consumer psychology, told The Post.
“As a result, retailers are adjusting inventory and payroll strategies, holding back on large seasonal orders and managing expenses by offering reduced hours rather than layoffs.”
Another challenge facing US retailers this year is a particularly short holiday season between Black Friday and Christmas, which “gives retailers less time to capture holiday spending and may intensify the concentration of last-minute purchases,” Barbera said.
It is difficult to estimate retailers’ full outlook solely from import data, which overlooks domestic imports and local vendors.
Some analysts remain optimistic about the upcoming holiday shopping season, despite low estimates.
“Fewer Christmas decoration and toy imports does not necessarily imply a slow season,” Craig Johnson, president of retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners, said.
He expects U.S. holiday sales to rise 4% this year, a slower pace than last year’s 4.1% sales growth.
With Post wires