LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which posted flat first-quarter earnings Thursday, will spend another summer marketing its wares to families who want to have fun even in hard times.
The world’s largest retailer plans to stick with the “staycation” theme it adopted last year, when skyrocketing fuel and food prices kept people home. Now, it’s unemployment instead of inflation that is leaving people looking for something to do around the house.
Groceries account for just about half of Wal-Mart’s U.S. sales, and the company has picked up market share in the recession as shoppers focus on necessities.
But as food prices moderated and consumers found their dollars going further, some sales have crossed into discretionary items, said vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright, who runs Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores. New customers who have switched to Wal-Mart are doing some of that buying.
Wal-Mart said its first-quarter earnings of $3.02 billion, or 77 cents per share, were hurt by 4 cents per share because of currency effects. Revenue fell 0.6 percent to $93.47 billion but would have risen 4.5 percent without the impact of the strong dollar.
