Walmart is basically skipping Halloween!

[TearyThunder]

I was talking with the seasonal manager at my local store today and they said they are going to be doing far less in the future for Halloween then in the past. He even said they were basically skipping Halloween. Of course they are gearing up for Christmas as we speak.

I just got off the phone with a customer service rep at 1-800-walmart and they said they will put in a complaint for me. I know is the years past walmart has done fairly well when it comes to halloween but the past two years they have been quickly going down hill.

Basically what they said it boils down to is that they don't have enough sales to do much for halloween. Now I would think that if they carry junk or very little for halloween, nobody will bother with buying it.

I have voiced my opinion about it to them and know my one opinion will not make a difference but if we all got on them maybe we could get the stores to give us more of what we want and hopefully put some competition back into the other retailers in our areas to get better stuff.

Ok I'm stepping off my soap box now. :)

[gmacted]

I bought some cool skull heads at walmart last year for my stanchions. I also bought a few cheap tombstones. Too bad. I always look forward to going to walmart in late August. I guess there's still Big Lots. They have some cool stuff too!

[slightlymad]

Cant say it breaks my heart. I basically refuse to set foot in the stores. In my area they are dumps with lousy service screaming children and ignorant people. I will gladly pay more elsewhere.
But if it will help a fellow member I will lodge a caplaint

[Sinister]

Of course they are gearing up for Christmas as we speak.

Therein lies your dilemma. Christmas is a very lucrative business and since most people have forgotten that the hoilday is more about sharing than giving, retailers destroy the entire institution with their greed. It's how many wide screen TV's, designer clothing and whatever the fuck the latest video game technology they have out on the market at the moment that will be forgotten by the following year, they try to push. Halloween is more or less a dirty little embarrassment that they only cater to, because there are those of us that still celebrate it and they might be able to squeeze a few more bucks from that part of the general populace. Every penny counts, especially if you're a multi-billion corporation like Wal-Mart. They might go bankrupt one day here soon, ya know. :rolleyes:

I'll bet that attitude where it pertains to Halloween is only indicative to the so-called "Bible Belt" in the south. I happen to know for a fact that a lot of GM merchandise and it's flow is largely dictated by the manager and the sales managers of the store rather than home office. Upon further inspection, I'll bet the person who IS the store manager where you frequent, is a very religious person. People like that CAN'T WAIT to abolish such Satanic holidays like All Hallows. Fucking jerks! :finger:

[Hellrazor]

nice speech Sinister. I got goosebumps!

[Marksin]

Check other walmarts in your town. I have gone to ones that dont have halloween items out in the second week of october, while others will stock the shelves in mid sept and earlier.
It might have to do with halloween sales in that immediate area.

[TearyThunder]

Sin, I do agree with you on the whole X-mas sales thing. I actually spend about $100-$200 a year on X-mas versus the $500+ on Halloween. I do know a good bit of people who do the same as I regarding the holidays though.

Out in out my town Halloween is actually still alive and well. You acutally see more decorations for Halloween than X-mas. Then again I'm in a town of about 500 people too. Heck our school even allows the Kindergartners to dress up a few days before Halloween and they take them on a hay ride through town and they TOT through town. The other grades as far as I know hold class parties.

The guy I spoke with at the store and on the phone basically said the same about the sales being the reason for the drop in merchandise. I don't know how they felt personally. I guess I will be making a call or stopping by to have a chat with the store manager since I have talked with corporate customer service and the dept manager.

I think this year I will drive around with me camera and take pictures of all the houses decorated and send them to the store manager and the home office.


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BTW thanks to all whole are willing to call and help with a complaint.
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[TearyThunder]

UPDATE!!!!!

I just got off the phone with the Store manager of my store! He called ME! I guess from the complaint I made earlier has certainly got someone curious. The store manager is actually for another store who transfered when the supercenter opened up out here. He said they had probably 12 isles of things in the store he was at last year and is looking into what my store will be carring and will certainly making some changes if possible to get more items in if the store is getting just a couple few isles. I guess he may just be a Halloween fan. I will have to wait to see.

He also asked about the forum. I gave him the link to this one and Halloween Forum. He says he is passing along the links to the buyers so that they can see what we are doing and looking for. Things could get interesting if we are able to actually get them look and see that more people are involved than what they *think.*

[Sinister]

I hope all of those sentiments above prove to your satisfaction, TT. In my experience, the manager was just blowing smoke up your ass. They are paid to tell customers what they want to hear. If everyone is into Halloween as you say around where you live, then why a drop in store sales? Seems to me people would be choking the aisles the first signs those retro plastic pumpkins were taken from a huge box and poured into a dump bin. What I'm saying is, don't get your hopes up too much if at all. The bulk of their merchandise is in the back already and it's rare anything comes in from a particular holiday afterward. Why do you think when a seasonal item runs out most of the time, it is replaced with another entirely different item than was there before? When most of it hits the shelf and is gone, it is truly gone. They don't re-order seasonal items.

[SpectreTTM]

Maybe they should be reading articles like these

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6263865.html

http://www.lovelandfyi.com/businessRH/bizStoriesRhArchive.asp?ID=508

http://www.biglots.com/retail/dia_halloween_2_05.asp

http://pressroom.americangreetings.com/archives/fall05/humor05.html

[TearyThunder]

Sin, I'm not sure what it going to happen just yet but I am going to get friends and neighbors invloved as well. In the meantime I'm not going to hold my breath either.

I don't know what has happened to their sales or if there actually have been a drop in sales. It could be possible that the corporate big wheels think that if they skip Halloween and get an early jump on X-mas they can actually make more since X-mas is bigger in sales.

I had just moved here last year at the end of Sept so from what I saw when I finally checked out my local Walmart, a week or so after I actually got settled, they didn't have much of anything worthwhile. They may have had some good stuff or a lot before I actually got in there though. Either way, regardless of which it was they certainly can't sell junk that doesn't interest us.

I am thinking that Big Lots, Walgreens, and Kmart are winning out in ther area here. I do frequent the other stores mentioned as well and actually spend more simply because they have more of what I want. With that being said I think Walmart has to step it up a bit and get back into the competition in order to make the sales.

[ruafraid]

I watched several Wallmarts here and most of them carried the "same stuff" I asked about it and I was told ALL the stores get the same basic shipment and it does not vary much. I am friends with a product rep that sells his companies product to most of the stores and it their product is not in ALL stores and it varies based on demographics Wallmart has a very sofisticated system of tracking their products.

Now my local stores were selling fast and even the after halloween 50% sale had very little and what was there was GONE in 3 days I went everyday waiting to for stuff to get marked down further and what I wanted evaporated. Only the small items remained that I could care less about. I saw the same in Walgreen's Eckerds, Part City and only Kmart lasted over a week and I did get some good costumes for this years haunt there "Finally" AND I live DEAD center in the "Bible Belt" and it really shows here trust me on that one.

I just keep making more stuff its better looking anyway! Don't let Wallmart tell you sales are down if that's true then HOW are their profits running so HIGH !! We already know what they will have, most of the same as last year and maybe a few new items. Most of your visitors will already have seen it ! They want to see something "Different" and we CAN give them that ! Heck support the guys that are open year around on the web they offer better deals and merchandise and it keeps the $$$ in the family, support each other !! That's American !

[Brad Green]

I really find it hard to believe that with market analysts stating that Halloween sales are second only in volume to those at Christmas (even if it is a distant second, that's still huge), that Walmart would decrease their ability to bite into that profit line, they aren't exactly known for passing any chance to make a buck and I don't think there head-office is staffed by a bunch of drooling morons - drooling capitalists yes, but not morons.

[IshWitch]

Check other walmarts in your town. I have gone to ones that dont have halloween items out in the second week of october, while others will stock the shelves in mid sept and earlier.
It might have to do with halloween sales in that immediate area.
I think that could be the case. The manager of the store itself has a lot to do with what they carry from what I understand. I've seen Walmarts with a far better selection of food than ours, yet ours had a huge Halloween section and the one about 20 miles north of here had an even better selection!

So maybe it is just your particular store, TT, and if that is the case, you could tell quite quickly by checking out all of the other stores in driving distance. You could then tell your store's mngr that you won't be using his services anymore and will frequent the other store.

He won't like that!

[IshWitch]

I support Big Lots when it comes to Halloween, anyway! They have more interesting things. Our Walmart's bluckies were a several bucks more than BL. I just looked and laughed! Fools!

[Frighteners Entertainment]

Now my 2 cents, as S-Mad stated, I don't go into walmarts either...
I just don't like the way they do business.I've seen what they've done when moving into another area and putting all of the mom and pop stores out of business, it's very sad.....so for me it's kinda like selling you soul to the devil.

[IshWitch]

Jeff, that South Park episode of Walmart is more true than people would like to admit!

I was checking out at ours one day when the guy ringing me up said the obligatory "did you find everything you needed?" to which I replied yes, but that I liked our old regular Walmart better. He looked kind of sad and agreed and then said "a lot of things have changed since we lost Sam" and it was more like to himself. I was really quite sad. But it is true, once Sam Walton died the place/corporation changed. He seemed honestly for family and the middle class with reasonable prices and decent quality. Now the greedy ones who run it are obviously out to make the money. And the place has gone to shit IMHO. And what they do to the local shops is so wrong!

[slightlymad]

wouldnt it be neat if the read the Things found in walmart thread talk about an eye opener

[TearyThunder]

I agree with everyone about supporting the online retailers and other stores. Believe me I do, especially Biglots, Walgreens, and Kmart. There are still some things I do look forward to at Walmart simply because the other stores don't carry them. I am getting more into the online realm of things this year. I have ordered several things so far and am expecting to be doing some more orders here very soon if all goes well.

I also somewhat agree with the way Walmart is has turned out since Sam died. I am slowy getting tired of the way things are going with them. I have seen them hurt smaller business and and disrupt quiet areas, it's not too pretty.

Unforunately the supercenter he has been a much welcomed thing in my area. With the shopping limited to a few stores it's hard not to be happy with it. Not to mention the store is the largest in the south east. When I was in Anniston I dreaded going to Walmart but it seems to be not to bad out here. At least not yet. This store hasn't been open a year yet so time will tell how bad it gets.

With all that being said, I feel that regardless of the store we should fight to keep Hallowen something they participate in. If Walmart stops then who's to say the other stores won't. If that happens what will happen to Halloween then?

[Frighteners Entertainment]

I disagree. If walmart gets into Halloween, especially ecommerce, they'll run many of us out of business.

[Da Weiner]

We just got a Walmart in our area about a year ago. I really don't go to Walmart because of their service. I went in there on a weekday when hardly no one was there to buy a trash can. I thought I would be in there at the most 1/2 hour. I was 1/2 hour in line waiting to pay for the damn thing. I really don't care for the atmosphere or the store.

[Shadojack]

Doesn't bother me. I haven't stepped into a Wal-Mart in years, don't plan to either. Of course I have several options living in a city as to where to buy my products, not to mention the net.

[Fright Yard]

Iv'e noticed that wal-mart is going down when it comes to halloween decorating. I used to get some god stuff there like crows and skulls and stuff. Now its mostly party stuff and it goes out pretty late. The one down here in NC is terrible for stuff, its like 2 aisles and mostly costumes, thats it. Last year I went to Kmart and Yes they had some pretty cool stuff so did target.

[turtle2778]

Well, with the measley selection my walmart carries i couldnt care less if they stopped. I purchase from biglots, walgreens,Mendards and target more than walmart for things. If i cant find it in one of those stores, then i can find it online. Unless walmart comes out with something spectacular then you wont find me there.

[Hauntiholik]

Last year I was happy with the selection walmart had. If they had more stuff then I would have spent too much money there. I needed child sized costumes for props so that worked out for me. I didn't want really high quality costumes because I cut them up anyway. I also picked up a fog machine and 2 timers there.

[MrsMyers666]

Doesn't bother me. I haven't stepped into a Wal-Mart in years, don't plan to either. Of course I have several options living in a city as to where to buy my products, not to mention the net.
How bout them protests that were going on in the city about Walmart not paying enough for people to afford health care?

Teary, what about Target, will they have stuff out? I'm not a fan of these big stores, but it's almost all we have by me to get things for everyday use. Halloween wise I either make what I can or look at Spirit now. Things online are a bit pricey, not that I don't want them, but if I could afford them I would be getting everything online.

[Da Weiner]

I was at Yankee Candle last night tooo and they already have their Halloween items and autumn scents out. Lot of good spicy smells this year. Had to have them!

[TearyThunder]

Mrs M, I shop everywhere for my stuff. I don't do too much at Target though. I got tired of the funny looks I get when I go in there. I do a lot online too. I have ordered more online as well as built more this year than I ever have in the past 5 years. I am to the point I'm almost out of room with storage and the yard. I do have my neighbors yard though. He did say I can bleed over if I need to (which I am sure I will be doing this year.) I just need to figure out the storage issue I am having lol.

[Da Weiner]

Ah, the storage issue! I hear that. I know I will be having that problem this year because of trying to make a fence and anything I buy this year. I'm starting to spill out of the spot I've made. Hmmmmmm - maybe I should start to downsize some of the Christmas stuff?

[TearyThunder]

There ya go DW! I have very few X-mas decorations (a few blowmolds and lights) which fit under the bed and in a small closet. My Halloween is everywhere. I'm looking at eight props in my living room right now lol. My spare room is full of props and so is the bedroom closet, top bunk (I have a twin full bunkbed), as well as the kitchen. I deperately need a storage building.

[Shadojack]

How bout them protests that were going on in the city about Walmart not paying enough for people to afford health care?

They passed the ordinance saying big box stores have to pay employees so much. It's a two edged sword, but Walmart basically said :finger: Chicago. All they would have to do is raise the price of their stuff a nickle on each product and that would solve the problem.

I have no love for Walmart. They built one in my home town out near the edge along the highway. Downtown died. Most of the mom and pop shops are gone and their isn't enough demand for them to reopen. Couple dozen bussinesses down the drain because of those bastards. And the kicker is people in my home town consider Walmart a good job. Now thats sad!

[shaunathan]

I spend 300-800 on halloween a year, and I have to say that most of my money goes to either home depot, lowes, the local toy/joke/halloween shop (funcorner, family run in san bernardino, CA since the 50's I love thier stuff~), local seasonal halloween stores that open for a month or two (technically they are mom and pop too as they just pay money to use a name and get to run a halloween store for a few months. they make most of the money you pay), and of course I spend a good chunk of change on supporting other haunts.

The only thing I ever bought at walmart last year was a gemmy fogger cause our other one broke a day before halloween and we were up at 2am and were bored... don't think I'll go back to wallmart after what I read here.

[sarahtlee]

I was at Yankee Candle last night tooo and they already have their Halloween items and autumn scents out. Lot of good spicy smells this year. Had to have them!

I spent over $200 at Yankee Candle a couple weeks ago buying the new spicy fall scents. They're wonderful. I highly reccomend the Gingerbread Maple