In today’s top retail news, Walmart is renting a pop-up yard near California ports to combat supply chain issues, while retailers are upping their in-store game in an effort to lure holiday shoppers. Also, Toys R Us is planning to open a store in New Jersey within the next few weeks, and PYMNTS’ Black Friday survey shows that use of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services is picking up.
Walmart Combats Supply Chain Issues With Rented Space Near Major Ports
Retail giant Walmart has taken a proactive approach to combating supply chain issues by renting a pop-up yard near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to bolster its cargo flow and increase the amount of incoming goods available for customers. The company began leasing the space about a month ago and has been using it to process more than 500 containers per day, as well as to hold loaded and empty containers.
Retailers Up Their In-Store Game to Attract Holiday Shoppers
Though online sales continue to outpace in-store purchases this holiday season, based on PYMNTS’ survey of Black Friday shoppers, consumers are frequenting stores more often now than they were a year ago — and some may find a transformed retail experience. Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods are among the retailers that have been rolling out new brick-and-mortar experiences over the past year, with executives optimistic about the stores’ potential to drive traffic.
Toys R Us Opening American Dream Mall Store Before Christmas
Toys R Us is opening a flagship store with a two-story slide, ice cream parlor and more than 10,000 toys in New Jersey’s American Dream mall in mid-December, news that could make kids in the Garden State especially excited as the holiday shopping season wraps up. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in 2017, closed its U.S. stores in 2018 and opened pop-up stores in Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey and Houston in 2019, both of which closed at the beginning of 2021. There are more than 900 Toys R Us stores in 25 countries.
Black Friday Retail Results Show Buy Now Pay Later Gaining Ground
PYMNTS surveys of more than 2,000 Black Friday shoppers found that, by and large, individuals opted to spend the cash on hand rather than load up the credit cards. But the data also show the continued embrace of BNPL options at the point of checkout — whether at the register (that would be at brick-and-mortar locations, of course) or, where applicable, through various “virtual” carts.
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