NEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in an aggressive move to entice holiday shoppers, said yesterday it cut prices on 15,000 additional items this week, 20 percent more than last year. The world's largest retailer signaled more price cuts to come, portending a competitive holiday season.

The move follows the retailer's rollbacks, or price cuts on in-season products, on popular toys earlier this month. This week's price cuts were applied to food, home, appliances and apparel. The Bentonville, Ark.-based company said it also plans to cut prices on electronics as well as other items. Wal-Mart sells more than 100,000 items, analysts said.

Wal-Mart's action comes as a trade group forecast retailers to have their worst holiday season in five years, prompting competitive price cuts to lure shoppers whose budgets are tightened amid record-high oil prices and a declining housing and credit market.

Retailers from Target Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. to Toys "R" Us Inc. and Best Buy Co. may be forced to follow in Wal-Mart's footsteps to cut prices, analysts said.

"Anytime Wal-Mart does this, it puts a lot of pressure on their competitors," said Joe Feldman of Telsey Advisory Group, in an interview. "It's a good thing for Wal-Mart. They need to cut back on their prices and get back to their roots. It's helping to drive sales for them."

The company failed last year to lure higher-income shoppers, who usually only buy Wal-Mart's consumable items such as detergent and toilet paper, with more upscale apparel and home furnishing products, said Tom Forte, also a Telsey analyst.

Driving traffic to stores during the holiday season is crucial for retailers because that's the time when many rake in their biggest sales and turn black for the year.

Retailers have reported worse-than-expected September same-store sales, hurt by unseasonably warm weather that analysts said may prompt more discounts heading into the holidays. Retailers from Target to J.C. Penney have lowered their profit forecasts.

U.S. shoppers are concerned about a slowing economy and may increase their holiday spending at the slowest pace in at least four years, a survey from the National Retail Federation showed this week. NRF, the world's largest retail trade group, has forecast sales for the holidays to increase at the worst pace in five years.

Wal-Mart last week raised its third-quarter profit forecast even amid sales shortfall, after it installed a staff scheduling software program, improved customer service and reduced markdowns that were used to clear out old merchandise. The company said then it will focus on lowering prices as its customers are still concerned about the cost of living.

Wal-Mart, citing Global Insight, said it saved the average family $2,500 per household last year.