Wal-Mart Stores continues to ratchet up its in-store marketing with a slate of four new concerts in its Soundcheck concert series.
Wal-Mart will host exclusive performances by Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts, Goo Goo Dolls and Jewel. Concerts and interview play in stores on Wal-Mart TV, with downloads available at Walmart.com. The Soundcheck series launched in February with concerts by Yellowcard, Switchfoot and Ne-Yo (Xtra Feb. 2).
The live performances are timed to CD releases; Wal-Mart gets exclusive release of some songs as part of its deal with singers. Rascal Flatts performs April 4; Goo Goo Dolls perform April 25; and Jewel performs May 2.
Wal-Mart airs two- to three-minute previews of each performance several times each in 3,000 stores, via the HDTV wall in the Electronics department. The full 30- to 40-minute concerts run live on Friday nights via Wal-Mart TV.
Fans can download the performances and interviews online for free, and can download songs—some exclusive to Wal-Mart—for 88 cents each.
Wal-Mart is striving to upgrade its in-store offerings in several departments as it courts more upscale consumers. The retailer is putting Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Photosmart Studio self-serve kiosks in 50 Wal-Mart stores and Sam’s Club stores (Xtra March 2). Shoppers can use the kiosks to turn digital photos into calendars, posters or albums. HP unveiled the kiosks last week.
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart reportedly will expand its RFID tagging system to 1,000 stores and 600 suppliers in 2007.
Wal-Mart’s pilot program began in 2005 with 100-plus suppliers tagging pallets and cases for 500 stores and five distribution centers, to track inventory and cut down on out-of-stocks.
The tags have cut out-of-stocks by 16%, and items with RFID tags are restocked three times faster than untagged goods, said Wal-Mart’s VP-Information Systems Carolyn Walton at an industry conference last week.
By January 2007, Wal-Mart will equip 500 more stores to read RFID tags, and will begin adding up to 500 more manufacturers to its roster of RFID taggers, per news reports.
At the same time, Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has begun legal proceedings against Wal-Mart for allegedly failing to put price tags on individual items.
The AG last week filed a Notice of Intended Action, a precursor to filing a lawsuit under the Consumer Protection Act. The AG’s office audited five Wal-Mart stores in the state and found that about 80% of items didn’t have price tags on them.
“Michigan’s law is clear: Price items individually, so consumers can shop and compare. This legal action against Wal-Mart will improve their item pricing and cause other retailers to do the same,” Cox said in a statement.
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