Customers back at Wal-Mart
Traffic picks up in US stores
Wal-Mart has seen a larger number of customers in its US stores over the past week as all-important holiday shopping improved.
The world’s biggest retailer said that its general merchandise sales picked up as the week progressed. Until last week, food has been the biggest driver of sales, with the latest figures suggesting that Wal-Mart’s increased promotional activity is having an impact.
The company said winter merchandise such as coats and shovels was selling well, and gift card sales rose significantly over last year. After two weeks in which bigger basket size was the main driver of growth, increased store traffic accounted for the lion’s share of growth across the week.
Wal-Mart is sticking with its relatively modest forecast of a 1 per cent to 3 per cent increase in US same store sales over the five-week December sales period.
