Key Takeaways
1. Walmart has faced numerous canceled pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2, but stock will still be available on release day.
2. Stock levels for the Switch 2 vary significantly across different Walmart locations, with some stores having more units than others.
3. There is speculation that Walmart may allocate some units from pre-orders to fulfill in-store stock, potentially leading to further cancellations.
4. Customer confidence in Walmart is declining, driving buyers to consider other retailers like Best Buy and GameStop for their purchases.
5. Best Buy and GameStop plan to hold midnight launch events and seem to have sufficient inventory for their celebrations.
Since the pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 kicked off on April 24th, customers at Walmart in the U.S. have faced a series of canceled orders. Now that Walmart is getting ready to process these orders, there has been a noticeable increase in cancellations. This situation is annoying, but there will still be stock available at Walmart on the release day of the Switch 2. Sadly, the amount of available units appears to be quite limited in some key markets.
Inventory Insights
A number of Walmart employees have the ability to check stock levels using internal applications. With the Switch 2 already arriving at various stores, these systems show how many consoles are at each location. Some of this information has been shared on Reddit and other online platforms. In one instance, a worker mentioned that their store has 17 Mario Kart World Bundles and 10 standard Switch 2 models in stock.
Stock Variations Across Regions
Worryingly, another employee noted that a store in Philadelphia will only have 22 consoles ready for the launch day on June 5th. This particular store is located in a busy area that experiences heavy foot traffic. However, the stock situation at Walmart is very different in other places. For example, Bentonville, Arkansas, has 125 Mario Kart World Bundles on hand for the Switch 2 release. It is important to note that this city is where Walmart’s headquarters are located, which might not accurately reflect stock levels in other stores.
Walmart typically shouldn’t count pre-order commitments for the Switch 2 in its inventory tracker. Nonetheless, many gamers are speculating that some of those units will be allocated to fulfill pre-orders. The retailer might have misjudged its supply and is now racing to secure consoles to prevent further cancellations.
Shifting Customer Confidence
The dwindling trust that buyers have in Walmart is pushing them towards other retailers. Best Buy and GameStop are set to hold midnight launch events on June 5th and will provide some perks to their customers. Reports suggest that GameStop plans to allocate between 50 to 100 units to selected locations. It appears that these stores at least have enough Switch 2 consoles to make their launch celebration worthwhile.
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