Wal-Mart doing more with less, and struggling, relatively speaking

We generally won't shop at Wal-Mart because I find it depressing.

With little kids and busy work schedules we are willing to pay a bit of a premium for more of a hassle free experience.

 

And increased blood pressure. And aggravation. I've never had those at Target or Kohl's.

 

We're the biggest newspaper in our state, and Walmart has a full-page ad in the back of our A section every Sunday. One of those "compare the receipt" ads where a shopper buys the same things at the local grocery store, and the receipts are shown side-by-side to show the Walmart savings (usually 17-25%).

We have a Target across the street from the Walmart. It's nicer, but they don't have their own brand of soda, they don't discount my Pepsi as much as Walmart, and they don't carry my brand of cereal (Walmart does). Those little things are why I rarely stop at Target.

I also suspect the "20-minute wait" times are a bit exaggerated. I'm sure it may seem that way when you're in a hurry and posting about it several weeks later. But I don't think I've ever waited more than 5 minutes at Walmart.

 

As usual, BTExpress' anecdotal evidence trumps everyone else's.

 

The last time I was in a Wal-Mart was 9:00 a.m. on the Fourth of July about 3 years ago. I was on the way to the beach and realized I had forgotten flip flops and Wal-Mart was the only store I could find that was open. A woman was screaming at her kid (looked to be about 4) that if he didn't shut the fuck up, she was going to beat the fuck out of him when they got home. A woman with her told her to stop being so mean and she said to watch out or she'd beat the fuck out of her, too. Then they burst into cackling laughter and high-fived each other.

Happy birthday, America!

It's probably not Wal-Mart's fault it's so depressing, but I really cannot bring myself to go back into one of their stores. It's not usually an issue - there aren't close to where I live.

 

In our shops that insert brings more than a half page ad. Before they were under contract they brought the equivalent of a full page. Now they are under contract and get a discount, but it's still meaningful revenue.

 

Try shopping at another Walmart. And if you don't want a cerebral hemorrhage, don't use Walmart's pharmacy.

 

At some point, Wal-mart is going to have to advertise more than "it's cheaper here!" Let's put it this way: no one has started a blog called People of Meijer, or People of Target. According to this article about Wal-mart's chief shit-shiner leaving, its image is about the same as other discounters, but there is still a lot for the company to overcome:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/09/business/man-who-helped-image-of-wal-mart-steps-down.html?_r=0

 

They vary A TON. I am within close shopping distance of three Supercenters and two Neighborhood Markets. I am also that close to two Targets. There's a really scary Supercenter that's right across the way from a really scary Target. There's a bright and shiny Supercenter that's just down the way from a bright and shiny Target. And there's another Supercenter that's really run-of-the-mill (i.e., big, cheap, not scary but not bright and shiny, either).

 

That's a real tough proposition when you've made your name based on low prices.

They gave it a bit of a go a few years ago with the ill fated hiring of Julie Roehm:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/08/business/media/08adco.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Her moves were very unpopular within Walmart, were not necessarily successful, and were dropped as soon as they dropped her.

 

She was also was a dipshit who really thought pushing the envelope in marketing campaigns would work for the company.

 

I warned all of you about this shit years ago. Damn.