Target's Pivot to Holiday Selling Reflects BTS Shortage, Says Analyst
Target’s late August top toys list for the holiday selling season is a “reflection of back-to-school inventory shortages" and "the expectation that people are going to be concerned about holiday inventory availability, especially for toys,” emailed Nikki Baird, Aptos vice…
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president-retail innovation, Monday. Target announced its “most exclusives ever” for the holidays that day and expansion of its Disney store-within-a-store section to 160 stores. Twenty-two of the retailer’s 50-item Bullseye’s Top Toys list are exclusive to Target, it said. Electronics on the list include Nintendo Switch models, plus PlayStation 5 console and Xbox Series S, which were in short supply last holiday season and well into 2021. The news release put the bug into consumers’ ears to shop early; it didn’t mention promotional pricing. Despite this year’s expected product shortages due to supply chain disruptions, Baird believes retailers will still battle hard for wallet share during Q4, but “maybe not as deep as typical because inventory levels will not be as deep. It will be more a question of whether consumers can find what they want.” Walmart, meanwhile, was still in back-to-school season Monday, promoting “free, outdoor or virtual concerts” for teachers and students: Imagine Dragons, Friday, in Las Vegas; Chance the Rapper, Aug. 30, in Chicago; and Kane Brown, Sept. 7 in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. Walmart will livestream the Sept. 7 event honoring teachers, offering virtual attendees back-to-school prices and shoppable content.