Bad Economy Good for Wal-Mart

[dollardaze]

The bad state our economy is in is definitely helping stores like Wal-Mart. People that would never have considered shopping in these stores, are finding that the only way they can make ends meet now, is to save as much money as they can by shopping in them.

One woman says that she would never have considered shopping at Wal- Mart until the economy slowed, almost ruining her family's jewelry business. Then having her mortage payment more than double. Her home is now worth much less than she paid for it, and she's now having trouble trying to sell it. Her family could no longer escape their economic woes, and they found themselves going into 'survival mode'. They could no longer think about buying extravagant things, but had to worry about paying the utility bills, groceries, and gasoline.

This is where Wal-Mart's low prices came in handy. The lady now shops there regularly, no longer embarrassed to be seen shopping there. She even buys gifts there now, no longer ashamed that those gifts have a Wal-Mart tag on them. She now even brags about the bargains she finds.

Wal-Mart had it's own economy problems a year ago. Growth was anemic and it's share price was in a slump. Critics of Wal-Mart regularly slammed the discount store for it's labor practices, wages, benefits and the treatment of it's workers. The company found that it couldn't go forward with plans it had for growth. Then came the economic downturn and along with it, the rising gas and food costs, and the housing crisis. Other retailers suffered from all of these problems, but Wal-Mart got a boost from them. It seems that a weak economy has helped the discount store to bring it's share price back up.

Community members held meetings to try to block Wal-Mart from putting a store in Dunkirk, Maryland. Petitions were circulated, and people vowed they would not shop in the store. Now with the rising costs of gasoline, utilities, and groceries, these people are glad to have a Wal-Mart to go to for less expensive necessities.

A spokesperson for Wal-Mart says that the retailer has 'absolutely' benefited from the economic crunch, but also credits the company's efforts to make shopping there more appealing as a reason for more shoppers coming into the stores. The spokesperson also states that the retailer has undertaken a major effort to improve its reputation, working to make its business more environmentally sustainable.

[pennypinch]

I myself, absolutely love Wal-mart. I grocery shop there, we shop for school clothing there and for just about anything else we need on a day to day basis. You can't beat the prices most of time. You can get many of the same name brand items at Wal-mart that you find in the high-priced stores. Why pay more for something than you have to?

In example, my daughter is really into Hannah Montana. We were going through a high priced store at the mall and she spotted a pair of jeans and a nice top that were Hannah Montana brand. The jeans were almost $40.00 dollars and the top was almost $30.00. I would have paid $70.00 dollars for this outfit for my seven year old daughter. She grows out of her clothing so fast and also tends to get messy as little girls do. I certainly could not see the sense in spending that kind of money for something that wasn't going to last her. So instead, I told her to wait and we would go to Wal-Mart. We found the SAME exact outfit for a total of $30.00, less than half the cost the other store was asking for!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with shopping at Wal-Mart, Family Dollar or any other stores that offer things cheaper. I think you would have to be a fool to feel you are above these shops!