• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 11, 2017

With the Christmas-shopping clock ticking down, Target is teaming up with hit show The Voice for some holiday mash-ups, with four 30-second performances.

The Minneapolis-based retailer says it’s the latest twist on the ongoing “Together’s The Joy” season ad campaign. “We love surprising fans with exclusive content during some of their favorite pop culture moments,” it says in announcing the effort. Bringing together the show’s final eight contestants, “we’ll turn holiday classics into exclusive new duets and create an even more magical performance. It’s pure fun, and totally Target.”

Walmart is stepping up its holiday strategy, too. It says some 84% of Americans are still holiday shopping, so it’s pushing its same-day pickup — one of the few services where it beats Amazon — as never before. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer says it typically sees demand double for the Pickup Today option in the final two weeks of the season and claims that 90% of people in the U.S. live within 10 miles of a Walmart. 

And it’s also trying a new gift card tactic for the forgetful, tucking unloaded cards into some orders. Customers can go online and quickly add cash, with amounts as low as $5.

Additionally, it says it hopes to win over more procrastinators with in-store demonstrations of popular toys and gifts, scheduled for “Gifts that Rock” parties in stores on Dec. 16.

With under two weeks to go, retail execs at stores like Walmart and Target are nervously watching sales reports, and there are some indications that spending may not be as strong as some have predicted. The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research group, says that spending in the fourth week of the season, which ended Nov. 25, based on its Checkout e-commerce information.

“Significant increases in online buyer activity translated into mediocre spending increases on the key days,” it reports. “Declines over the past two weeks have dulled the season’s early lead over Holiday 2016,” with cumulative retail sales up just 2% across its key merchandise categories.