(ip-192.com): Wal-Mart announced that it has expanded its laptop selection by 40 percent. According to a news release, the company will be aggressive in pricing the computers and the accessories to go with them, as the discount retailer looks to win sales from frugal back-to-school shoppers.
Starting Sunday, Wal-Mart will begin selling an exclusive Compaq Presario notebook computer that it developed in partnership with Hewlett-Packard for $298. A similar unit currently sells at Wal-Mart for $548.
Retailers have started the back-to-school shopping season on shaky ground as consumers show an unwillingness to spend on anything but basic goods.
According to a National Retail Federation survey, the average family with children in kindergarten through 12th grade plans to spend 7.7 percent less on school gear this year than a year ago.
One bright spot in the survey was consumer electronics, where students plan to spend more. In addition, nearly 75 percent of respondents said they intend to shop at discount stores for their new school purchases.
The Compaq Presario that goes on sale July 26 will have 3 gigabytes of memory, a 160-gigabyte hard drive, and it will come pre-loaded with a copy of Microsoft Corp's Windows Vista operating system.
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