Walmart wants you to know it's the cheapest
Filed under: Saving Money, Shopping, Economizer
"We will not be beaten on price," says Eduardo Castro-Wright, vice chairman of Wal-Mart Stores and head of the U.S. division. Castro-Wright was speaking to analysts yesterday, trying to reinforce Walmart's low cost message and describing how it plans to cut prices each week leading up to Christmas. Does this mean you can expect incredible deals at Walmart this holiday season? Yes, and no.
"You can expect some fantastic bargains at Walmart, but you can expect fantastic bargains at all sorts of other retailers, as well," says one retail insider, who prefers not to be named. "Come on, who in the retail industry didn't expect Walmart to make a lot of noise about their pricing in advance of the holiday season? This is what they do, it's really all they know how to do."
So why did roughly 1,400 news outlets pick this story up? Because the statement was media bait.
Walmart's competitors are getting much better at matching or beating prices, as evidenced by the pricing study done this summer by retail consultants McMillan/Doolittle and reported exclusively by Walletpop. In that study we compared prices on a list of identical items. Target and Walmart were about equal in price, with Target actually $1.35 cheaper than Walmart, but close enough to call it a draw.
Analysts -- the people who issue buy, sell or hold ratings on retail stocks -- know that big retailers are achieving price parity and Walmart executives were speaking to analysts, trying to reinforce their dedication to low prices.
But they were also speaking directly to you, the consumer. Low prices are what distinguishes Walmart, and it doesn't want shoppers to forget it. Strategically cutting prices on gift and seasonal items leading up to the holidays isn't new. In the past, Walmart would talk about rolling back prices as the holiday got nearer. "But now, they want more credit for being the price leader," says our source. "And they're screaming it from the roof tops."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-25-2009 @ 10:05PM
April said...
Wallyworld is definitely one of, if not the "cheapest" retailer around.
It's also one of the most cruel.
Dead Peasants?! If anyone saw Michael Moore's documentary 'Capitalism, A Love Story' you know what I mean.
He spoke w/2 sets of families who told their stories of how Walmart TOOK OUT LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES ON SOME OF THEIR EMPLOYEES!
Both employees had health issues so Big Fat Domineering Walmart took out insurance policies on them (w/out their knowledge, of course) & collected up to $80,000 on their deaths!
WTFrick?! No more Walmart shopping for my family, friends, & myself.
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10-26-2009 @ 1:13AM
Jay Adler said...
I have been to Walmart maybe three times in my life, I was born in 1951. The only product I remember purchasing was a beautiful oak computer console for $35 which was more than a giveaway. I did find it odd that one Chrismas I applied for their credit card so that I could shop for my family's gifts and then two weeks later I noticed the credit limit was $150. I called to remind them that this was not the Eisenhower administration. Here is what I think about retail. If you are a gent like me that does not want to spend $50 total for a long sleeve polo through the old time catalogs, Kohl's will sell you the same item with Vietnam and China improving quality for less than $20. The iconic and reasonable savvy designer Liz Claiborne has signed a deal with J C Penney who has become very competitive on clothing and the only place to buy quality sheet sets reasonably. There are certain items that I would buy at Walmart and plenty that I would purchase elsewhere.
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10-27-2009 @ 4:53AM
Alice said...
Wal Mart will do anything to get the sheeple through their doors. The name of the game is to separate the people from their money. They are vicious in everything they do from badgering vendor, suppliers and their employees. I know...I was an associate for many years. Leaving that company was one of the most wonderful days of my life.
At this present time they are using the economy to bully their employees even more. Control through fear has been a favorite tactic they use to keep people in line. They are slashing hours so that they can poke more money into the corporate pockets saying they must keep payroll down to keep prices down to 'save the country'. Look at the outrageous salaries/bonuses the CEO and his Czars make. They make $30+ million per YEAR...not in a lifetime...per YEAR. While the workers suffer. It is the true sweatshop mentality. It is Socialism.
Fantastic bargains? My Christmas will be homemade baked breads and other good things to eat. I will shop at small local shops and hit the flea markets for unique items. I will not step foot in any Wal Mart especially during the holiday that celebrates the birth of Christ.
Wal Mart is a hostile private corporation who dominates the population and the poor. They steal American jobs and send them overseas. They are so arrogant. They want you to know they are the master. They are not MY master.
I am now forced to buy foreign products because Americans gave away their jobs to corporations like Wal Mart. However, I do not have to help feed the monster. I will not contribute to their ultra wealth while their associates suffer in poverty. I will not contribute to the use of 'slave' labor they condone and promote.
Next time you visit this store, hold whatever you may wish to purchase in your hand and think for just one moment of the person who had to work in horrible conditions for 12-15 hours a day for pennies an hour in a climate of fear and total control. Think of the corporate people who live in ultra wealth beyond the imagination of anyone. Think of the children who are forced to work as sweat shop slaves. Enjoy your shopping trip.
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10-26-2009 @ 8:45AM
MG said...
Unfortunately, in the rural communities, Walmart is the most affordable place to shop. If I buy at my local supermarket my paycheck doesn't go as far as when I buy from Walmart ... all things equal. Of course, it is in these smaller communities that Walmart has built the mega corporation they have become. I'm not sure it is what Sam Walton had envisioned when he started the company. I think Mr. Sam was a good, honest person. Too bad the company that bears his name has become what it is today.
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10-27-2009 @ 5:23AM
Alice said...
Sam Walton knew exactly what he was doing. He hid behind the cute smiley face and excellent advertising. He was cunning, cold and cut throat. However he did have a few crumbs of loyalty to his country and as long as American businesses dropped wages to their own employees and would sell him products at rock bottom prices he would provide SOME American made products....as long as it was all on HIS TERMS. However the minute he died, his children sent anything and everything overseas. Multiple American businesses...whom had all of their eggs in the Wal Mart basket....closed.
The best I can tell anyone who is forced to deal with Wal Mart is to try very hard to buy locally grown produce (and grow your own if possible), use the local meat markets, shop second hand stores, hit the flea markets. But the more you feed the Wal Mart monster the larger it will grow which makes you part of the problem. We need solutions..not more problems. This country is in very serious trouble.
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