Thread regarding Walmart layoffs

Walmart vs online

Walmart's main customer (in the US) is the American family. Things happen when you get married and have children. Life gets complicated and people have budgets. While the uninformed seem to think their keen sense of seeing into the future is spot on, there are some basic facts that don't change. Families need groceries and baby food and diapers and toothpaste - all those items that keep the family machine turning smoothly at home. Mothers and fathers will always cook dinners for their children. Socks and clothing needs to be bought. Clothes need to be washed. Hair needs to be combed.

The point is this - family life (in the US) has a cycle, a constant beat and rhythm. Shoppers come to their Walmart so they can see and feel the family goods and groceries they are buying. Many of us buy items online for the sheer convenience of it and when we do, we have the options to compare prices and services and select our merchant. But, none of us buy everything online, so we still need the store where that single mom can get in and get all her stuff in one trip, or where you can go at 11pm at night to get the baby Tylenol.

When the American consumer is offered more purchasing options, they have consistently chosen value first, then brand loyalty, then convenience. It will flex over time as more options become available, but, families will still need to keep the same home machine turning and operating, so, they will always need a faithful merchant, Walmart. This is undeniable. This is how the American family works.

Agree with you completely, @OlHHybf-1zlz. Some things are simply a part of American way of life, and Walmart is one of them.

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Post ID: @OP+OnrpVYu

4 replies (most recent on top)

Lou/Pete, I think you are getting trolled by a DM sound alike. This is actually sort of hilarious (though it s---s for you).

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Post ID: @shu+OnrpVYu

Someone is using my pseudonym.

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Post ID: @ces+OnrpVYu

It's a good thing we have a free economy (in the US) and competition so that consumers can make choices. As we drive down the road, we have multiple options of brick and mortar where we can stop and shop. Many of us buy gasoline for our cars depending on where it's the cheapest. If gas station #1 has gas for $2.19 and gas station #2 across the street has it for $1.99, of course we go to gas station #2. That makes total sense since it's virtually the same product (as far as your engine sees it).

Consumers that want that gallon of milk, or the package of toilet paper or a new battery for your hearing aid or athletic shoelaces or a replacement light bulb for the stove, they all go through the same selection process. If the item is the same, and I can get it all at one place and it's cheaper, that's where they are going to go.

We all do it. And we do it because it simply makes good sense. Walmart makes those decisions easy by having the products we want at one location at prices we feel good about. None of that is going to change.

The push to enhance and improve Walmart's online presence is just an extension of that very same philosophy. Just like many years ago when many dot com's blew up, we'll see a lot of posturing in the online and grocery marketplace. New things will be tried and some will fail. Fortunately for us, we have the size and strength of Walmart that can safely try new methods to give consumers what they want, when they want it and at the price they want to pay.

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Post ID: @ukq+OnrpVYu

As stated in the other thread, I think Walmart is vastly discounting convenience. What people say they do in studies and what they actually do in reality are two different things.

I think Walmart is in real danger of getting squeezed on several fronts. I think our competitors see this and will strategize around this happening.

So while I agree that there will always be bricks and mortar stores, it doesn't mean that people must choose Walmart. I believe that what customers view as value has changed. It isn't just low prices anymore. Walmart is inconvenient to shop (in my opinion) and it isn't fixing that fast enough.

I hope I'm wrong on all accounts. I could be. I'm no CEO named DM. The anonymous poster above sure sounds like DM. But then again, why would DM be on a website like this? Surely he hears this sort of honesty from his team all the time. Healthy debate makes a team stronger after all.

Anyhow, all of this is just the opinion of a peon. Nobody ever listens to us.

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Post ID: @bod+OnrpVYu

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