Wal-Mart, Target Stepping Up Their Game This Cyber Monday

Retail giants Wal-Mart and Target are making an aggressive push to challenge Amazon and other online retailers this Cyber Monday.

The two retailers have been struggling to gain e-commerce traction and are hoping that this year’s Cyber Monday sales will be a step in the right direction.

Related Link: Black Friday (And Cyber Monday) Primer: Here's What Some Top Retailers Are Doing

Wal-Mart’s Early Start

Wal-Mart has pledged to offer all of its 2,000 Cyber Monday deals starting at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, November 29 – the night before Cyber Monday. Wal-Mart is hoping it will be the early bird that gets the worm, targeting working parents and Millennials who planned on staying up until midnight on the day before Cyber Monday to take advantage of online deals when they first go live.

Wal-Mart has been tracking search and demand trends in anticipation for this year’s sale and is offering three times the number of “Star Wars” toys, 15 times as many drones and 350 percent more 3D printers compared to last year's sales offerings.

Target Cutting 15 Percent

Target has also announced that it is stepping up its Cyber Monday sales initiatives and will be offering a 15 percent discount on almost everything on its Target.com site this year. In addition to the blanket 15 percent discount, Target will also be offering nearly 75 e-doorbuster deals, half of which will be 50 percent off sales.

Searching For Footing

Wal-Mart and Target continue to search for answers to Amazon and other online retailers, and their struggles are clear when it comes to stock prices. Amazon’s shares have more than doubled in 2015, while Target’s shares are down 4.6 percent and Walmart has tanked 29.8 percent year-to-date.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.