Walmart Gets In On the Wii Action; Debuts Wii Fit On Its Website

Wii Wii

Walmart is banking on the bankable Nintendo Wii to avoid feeling the squeeze of an economic crunch this upcoming holiday season. Walmart is dedicating the homepage of its website, Walmart.com to the highly anticipated Wii Fit, which it will be aggressively marketing to mom’s for this upcoming Mother’s Day to pump-up sales.

Wii Fit, which will be released on May 19, eight days after Mother’s Day is touted as a “physical exercise program” and it’ll be available for pre-order on Walmart’s website, for $89.74 with the inclusion of a $10 online gift card for early purchases. The extra emphasis is directed on Mother’s Day as retailers see the opportunity to cross market as “golden” in a climate such as this, where customers are being fickle about how and where they spend their disposable income. Most are opting to stock food or buy gas rather than spend lavishly in stores.

Estimates calculate that last year consumers spent $139.14 on average for the Mother’s Day holiday. They are expected to spend less this year, around $138.63 for “Dear Mama.” Trends do suggest though that consumers will spend big on electronics, about $1.2 billion. The video game sector shows 57% growth from last March’s purchases and Walmart intends to capitalize on the trend. Not only are electronic purchases on the upswing but Walmart sees the Wii Fit as an opportunity to cash in on new customers, women looking to get fit with an easy-to-use device and older customers who also want in on the Wii action that has swept the nation.

“You’ll see our marketing programs really reach out to both genders and a range of ages,” said Cammie Dunaway, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo’s U.S. operations, in an interview with Reuters in February

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~ by streetknowledge on May 2, 2008.