BENTONVILLE, AR., 2015-8-28— /EPR Retail News/ — Walmart is gearing up for the 2015 holiday season by kicking off its first-ever Toy Week with a sneak peek at some of the top toys for the holidays as chosen by kids. The retailer’s Toy Week reveals some of the biggest holiday trends and comes in front of Walmart’s highly anticipated Force Friday events on Sept. 4 when new and exclusive Star Wars merchandise will be unveiled at Walmart. From toys and groceries to apparel and health and wellness items, more than 500 new Star Wars products will be available in stores and thousands more on Walmart.com.
Toy Week also includes the Aug. 28th launch of Walmart’s holiday layaway program, a full two weeks earlier than last year. New this year, the company has lowered the price for eligible items to $10 with a $50 minimum basket. There is no opening fee for customers to start a layaway account, and they only need to put down 10 percent. The last day to pick up layaway items is Dec. 14.
“Outside of the holiday season, we could be looking at the biggest week of 2015 for toys and we’re giving customers every reason to choose Walmart,” said Anne Marie Kehoe, vice president of toys at Walmart. “We’ve made a tradition out of letting kids tell us which toys will be most popular during the holidays. Between their selections this year and the excitement aroundStar Wars, parents know exactly what will top kids’ wish lists, and they can count on us for great prices.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
It’s one of the most anticipated toy releases in years, and Walmart is the place for customers, fans and collectors from across the galaxy to be among the first to get their hands on new Star Wars: The Force Awakens merchandise, including items only sold at Walmart. Customers can also visit Walmart.com today to preorder the Legendary Yoda. The excitement begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 4 at Walmart.com and at midnight Force Friday events in 2,900 Walmart stores across the country. To find Force Friday events happening in your neighborhood, visit walmart.com/starwars.
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, customers could only shop in stores,” Kehoe said. “Today, we make it easy and convenient to find new Star Wars merchandise in our stores, on a mobile device or on Walmart.com with light speed shipping options.”
Walmart will be the only place to find the Star Wars Galactic Connexxions trading disc game by Topps, a collectible trading disc game featuring the Star Wars characters generations know and love. At Force Friday midnight events, Walmart will hand out a free limited edition two pack of the discs, including a rare star field disc that is only available in packs given away on Force Friday. If customers find one of four special redemption discs inside Galactic Connexxions game sold in stores, on Walmart.com or during the events, they can be redeemed for an ultra-rare 14 karat gold disc and a Star Wars room makeover.
Fans can log onto Walmart.com right now and preorder the video games Star Wars Battlefront and Disney Infinity 3.0. Available exclusively at Walmart is the Disney Infinity 3.0 Star Wars Kanan Jarrus Figure. Former Jedi turned rebel fugitive, Kanan Jarrus leads bands of rebels in covert operations to help overthrow the Galactic Empire.
Top Holiday Toys
Customers won’t need to rely on Jedi mind tricks to find out what the top holiday toys are this year. Once again, Walmart turned to true toy experts – kids – to pick the hottest toys of the season. The retailer enlisted hundreds of kids aged 18 months to 12 years to play with the most-anticipated toys, gadgets and electronics of the season to better understand their changing tastes. With these insights, Walmart is working with suppliers to stock the right toys for great prices all season long. Top toys include:
Future Foodies
Toys that inspire kids to get creative in the kitchen and play with their food … in a good way:
- Hasbro Pie Face
- Skyrocket Toys Chocolate Pen
- Wicked Cool Girl Scout Cookie Oven
- Moose Shopkins Scoop Ice Cream Truck Playset
Veterinarians in Training
Kid-approved picks for lovers of animals, real and imaginary, and future veterinarians:
- Fisher Price Little People Zoo
- Fisher Price Imaginext Ultra T-Rex
- Spin Master Paw Patrol Mission Chase
- Just Play Doc McStuffins Vets N Pets Care Center
- Moose Little Live Pet Clever Keet
- Hasbro Furreal Unicorn
Adventure-Seekers in the Making
Action-packed toys for kids who love dancing and moving – and all things fast and flying:
- Vtech Ultimate Raceway
- MGA MC2 Deluxe Lab Kit
- Mattel Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage
- Fisher Price Thomas Shipwreck Rails Playset
- Jakks RC Hulk Smash Vehicle
- Mattel Hot Wheels Terrain Twister
- Jakks Max Tow Truck
- New Bright RC Pro Reaper
- Fisher Price Beatbo
- Hasbro Nerf Rotofury
- Blip Hovertech Battle FX
- Alpha Voice Command Helicopter
Dreaming Design Stars
Play sets that give kids the chance to create outfits and decorate houses and castles:
- Mattel Frozen Ice Castle
- Hasbro My Little Pony Canterlot Castle
- Mattel Barbie Dream House
For more information on Walmart’s Top Toy List Chosen by Kids, visit www.walmart.com/chosenbykids.
Toy Week is just the beginning of Walmart’s celebration of toys. With Christmas less than four months away and the much-anticipated theatrical release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec. 18, the retailer expects to have new toys and other merchandise throughout the holiday season.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, we serve nearly 260 million customers who visit our 11,508 stores under 65 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015 revenue of $486 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.