Wal-Mart Supercenter vs neighborhood market

[Mikemarsh51]

I recenctly was at a WM neighborhood market. I commented to the clerk that what I was buying cost a dollar and a half more there than at the supercenter. She told me that was correct. That I was paying for the convenience of coming to the market. I asked her if everything cost more than the supercenter? She said it should be. I had no idea.

Oh how I can't wait for the new Crest!

[td25er]

Not sure about the prices, but the Supercenter also has better selections than the Market. It amazes me that a dedicated grocery store has less than a "supercenter".

[bombermwc]

Well for all the "cost savings" Wal-Mart makes people think they offer, in all actuallity, they don't. You will often find products cheaper at Target than Wal-Mart. Wally's trick is to advertise a particular product at the "low price" to get you in the store. While you're there, you buy other stuff that is actually MORE than elsewhere. So Wally gets more money and you think you've saved....especially with that little "you saved $.. today" at the bottom of the receipt and all the "Low Price Guarantee" stuff. You tell a lie long enough, people take it as fact.

I don't think Wal-Mart is evil or anything, I think they are shrewd businessmen/women and have managed to carve out such an amaing place in society, it's hard not to admire their presence. Do I shop there? NO WAY IN HELL! Not really because I dislike the products....the same can of corn is at Crest/Wal-Mart/Target/Homeland/etc., but I can't stand being around the people inside or standing in their lines.

For me, even if I do end up paying a bit more at Target for something, I get the more relaxed atmosphere....no lady beating the kid in the aisle while talking to her "baby daddy" on her cell. Just sayin....

[Larry OKC]

Well for all the "cost savings" Wal-Mart makes people think they offer, in all actuallity, they don't. You will often find products cheaper at Target than Wal-Mart. Wally's trick is to advertise a particular product at the "low price" to get you in the store. While you're there, you buy other stuff that is actually MORE than elsewhere. So Wally gets more money and you think you've saved....especially with that little "you saved $.. today" at the bottom of the receipt and all the "Low Price Guarantee" stuff. You tell a lie long enough, people take it as fact.

WOW, respectfully disagree here. Take your regular weekly shopping list. Go buy the items at your regular store (Target, Homeland, whatever) and take that receipt to Wal-Mart and compare. Some items may be higher and some are lower, but overall chances are you are going to save at Wal-mart.

Rarely will I find an item cheaper at a competitor. Sometimes it happens, but it is a special sale price and not the regular price. Many stores do what you described, have a great sale price on something to pull you in and then make it up on other items (think this is called a loss leader). This is definitely true of Homeland and its BOGO sales. A few years ago (before Wal-Mart entered the grocery business), took Homelands BOGO ad to Crest in Midwest City, on EVERY item that Crest carried, their regular price was cheaper than Homeland's BOGO (buy one get one). EVERY item! You sometimes might get a good buy on a particular "sale" item but if you buy anything else in the store, they make their profit back. Similar to stores that offer double coupons. Their price is jacked up so that even after you take off the double coupon, you are still paying more than at other stores.

[PennyQuilts]

A dedicated grocery store in a neighborhood is likely to have higher prices. They lack the volume and lots of them are in higher crime areas with highter insurance rates. And they are also not going to have the selection of a supercenter although if they are are in an ethnic area, a lot of them will care specific goods tailored to the surrounding community. That clerk was exactly right about the convenience of having a market close to home costing more. That is why convenience stores in neighborhoods are almost always higher than at regular supercenters.

[mugofbeer]

I agree, it's no different than the prices of "groceries" sold at a 7-11. You pay more there for Cheetos than at the grocery store. You also pay more for gas at one gas station vs. at another depending on competition and demographics.

[RealJimbo]

Easy formula:

The more work you have to do (e.g. walk a mile inside a Supercenter, find stuff without any help or service), the less you pay. The less work you have to do (better service, smaller store, shorter walk from parking to checkout) the more you pay.

[Ezrablum]

I haven't spent any money at a Wal-mart, Sam's Club, or Wal-mart Neighborhood Market in over 3 years. I think the hassle and heartache I have saved myself from shopping at those places has given me back more than 3 years on my life.

YouTube - WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price -- teaser trailer

[mugofbeer]

I haven't spent any money at a Wal-mart, Sam's Club, or Wal-mart Neighborhood Market in over 3 years. I think the hassle and heartache I have saved myself from shopping at those places has given me back more than 3 years on my life.

YouTube - WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price -- teaser trailer

Thats your mental problem with them. I don't do my weekly grocery shopping there but I buy a lot of non-perishables and things to store. Between lower prices and coupons, I can save significant money. Its no hassle to me.

[stick47]

I prefer Homeland because when I return to buy something I've purchased there before I can be fairly confident that it will be on the shelf. I suspect more than a few of Walmarts items are one time buys and if you found it one time, there's no guarantee they'll have it when you go back.

[Thunder]

I haven't spent any money at a Wal-mart, Sam's Club, or Wal-mart Neighborhood Market in over 3 years. I think the hassle and heartache I have saved myself from shopping at those places has given me back more than 3 years on my life.

YouTube - WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price -- teaser trailer

I believe this is a total lie.

[PennyQuilts]

If they went union, the hate crowd would evaporate. I love Wal-Mart.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

If they went union, the hate crowd would evaporate. I love Wal-Mart.

Why?

[PennyQuilts]

Why?

They are the ones who have aggressively hounded Wal-Mart for years. It is on the leftist hate list. Even people in areas where there is no wal mart hate them. When I visit NYC, I get earfulls from people who have never set foot in Wal Mart going on and on about the way they treat women, run out ma and pa shops, its alleged lack of benefits, blah, blah, blah.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

They are the ones who have aggressively hounded Wal-Mart for years. It is on the leftist hate list. Even people in areas where there is no wal mart hate them. When I visit NYC, I get earfulls from people who have never set foot in Wal Mart going on and on about the way they treat women, run out ma and pa shops, its alleged lack of benefits, blah, blah, blah.

I am a Democrat and am not particularly pro-union, and I dislike Walmart because many of their "cheap" products are inferior (or you can find them cheaper elsewhere), they destroy local economies in small towns (and this is true, I watch it happen in Oklahoma every year), and going to and from a Walmart is frustrating and depressing. The biggest beef I have is that people seem to think that Walmart is the cheapest place to shop, and in the long run, it is not. You will end up buying more at Walmart than you would otherwise. That is the shopper's fault, but I still dislike Walmart because of their false promises and misleading advertising. They will match competitors prices, but on the whole, people don't even bother to check and Walmart wins. Maybe it is the Walmart shoppers that insist on only shopping there (and who call me an elitist because I don't) that bug me more than Walmart itself does, who knows - after all, Walmart is an avatar for our desire for convenience and abundant cheap crap. And BTW, I shopped at Walmart when I was a student and lived in NJ, yes we have those, and I learned that they are not the cheapest place out there before I stopped going.

My bigger point is, why are you trying to lump people who don't like Walmart into convenient categorical stereotypes? There are so many reasons to hate Walmart, and so many different people out there. I hate to say this, but I'm sure you'll find plenty of people dependent on the state shopping at Walmart (are they "leftists" too?) on the 1st of the month. I just don't get how this is a partisan issue.

[PennyQuilts]

I am a Democrat and am not particularly pro-union, and I dislike Walmart because many of their "cheap" products are inferior (or you can find them cheaper elsewhere), they destroy local economies in small towns (and this is true, I watch it happen in Oklahoma every year), and going to and from a Walmart is frustrating and depressing. The biggest beef I have is that people seem to think that Walmart is the cheapest place to shop, and in the long run, it is not. You will end up buying more at Walmart than you would otherwise. That is the shopper's fault, but I still dislike Walmart because of their false promises and misleading advertising. They will match competitors prices, but on the whole, people don't even bother to check and Walmart wins. Maybe it is the Walmart shoppers that insist on only shopping there (and who call me an elitist because I don't) that bug me more than Walmart itself does, who knows - after all, Walmart is an avatar for our desire for convenience and abundant cheap crap. And BTW, I shopped at Walmart when I was a student and lived in NJ, yes we have those, and I learned that they are not the cheapest place out there before I stopped going.

My bigger point is, why are you trying to lump people who don't like Walmart into convenient categorical stereotypes? There are so many reasons to hate Walmart, and so many different people out there. I hate to say this, but I'm sure you'll find plenty of people dependent on the state shopping at Walmart (are they "leftists" too?) on the 1st of the month. I just don't get how this is a partisan issue.

Perhaps you haven't read the leftist rants on the subject. I already told you why I lump the leftist in this, i.e., the ones in liberal areas that have never set foot in them but know all about their many sins and are so vocal about it. Clearly, that is not about anything other than what they have read or believe. They turn it into practically a religious calling.

For what it is worth, if someone doesn't like Wal Mart just because they don't like Wal Mart due to bad service, more power to them. Those aren't the ones that bug me. The ones that bug me are the ones who have systematically tried to make this an issue to run them out on a rail based on their management policies that don't meet the standard set by the pro union groups. And if you don't think this has been a systematic, big money campaign to discredit and coerce Wal Mart, I have to think you are just uninformed on that note. No offense.

But for all the reasons you don't like it, I can tell you that when I raised my kids, I was one of those value shoppers and it made all the difference in what I could afford for my kids. People who don't get how difficult it is to put food on the table, and who look down their nose at struggling young families (and you may not be one of them but many are) just don't get it. There are going to be things that aren't cheaper but someone would have to be on another planet to actually believe that overall, you aren't saving. As an individual or family, you are definitely saving. I was more concerned about feeding my family than what was going on at the corporate level. And I am not one bit ashamed of that. When you only have five bucks, you make it stretch. And I did my comparison shopping, many times. I am confident that you aren't usually going to beat a Wal Mart price.

[Blangdon]

where is the new crest going to be?

[rcjunkie]

where is the new crest going to be?

SW 104th and May Ave., they are also in the process of buying land for a new store in Norman.

[Larry OKC]

I recenctly was at a WM neighborhood market. I commented to the clerk that what I was buying cost a dollar and a half more there than at the supercenter. She told me that was correct. That I was paying for the convenience of coming to the market. I asked her if everything cost more than the supercenter? She said it should be. I had no idea.

Oh how I can't wait for the new Crest!

This isn't necessarily a Super Center vs Market problem but a general problem with Wal-Mart overall. I have found many identical items cheaper at the Market rather than higher as mentioned in your post. I have found price difference on specific items at 2 or more SuperCenters too. When I have commented on it, was told that each store has its own pricing (not sure if this is set by corporate or the individual stores) and that Wal-mart will price match their competitors but they don't consider themselves to be in competition with other Wal-Marts. Personally think all pricing within a geographic area should be nearly identical.

[PennyQuilts]

They all do loss leaders. They'll get a good price on a particular item and use it to draw in customers. That is standard.

[Larry OKC]

"Loss Leader" may not have been the correct term (my bad) because it implies they are losing money on the item which is illegal under Oklahoma law. This law goes back to the '40s (long before Wal-Mart and "Big Box" retailers came on the scene. Anyway, Oklahoma law requires that a minimum 6% profit be made on all items sold in the retail or wholesale environment. There are some exceptions, like clearance items etc.

This is why you may see in an ad (especially after Thanksgiving ones), in small print, "not available in Oklahoma". Has nothing to do with the availability of the item, but that price can't be honored because it falls below the 6% profit requirement (and may actually be below their cost, a true "loss leader"). they will have the item available and at a sale price, but just not the one advertised.

[PennyQuilts]

"Loss Leader" may not have been the correct term (my bad) because it implies they are losing money on the item which is illegal under Oklahoma law.

My first husband was in the grocery business and he always called them loss leaders.

[RealJimbo]

"Loss Leader" may not have been the correct term (my bad) because it implies they are losing money on the item which is illegal under Oklahoma law. This law goes back to the '40s (long before Wal-Mart and "Big Box" retailers came on the scene. Anyway, Oklahoma law requires that a minimum 6% profit be made on all items sold in the retail or wholesale environment. There are some exceptions, like clearance items etc.

This is why you may see in an ad (especially after Thanksgiving ones), in small print, "not available in Oklahoma". Has nothing to do with the availability of the item, but that price can't be honored because it falls below the 6% profit requirement (and may actually be below their cost, a true "loss leader"). they will have the item available and at a sale price, but just not the one advertised.

If Oklahoma law requires any specific percent of profit, this is the first I've ever heard of it and I worked for many years for a big retail chain. That really doesn't seem any more constitutional than the president of the US being able to fire the CEO of General Motors, now known as Government Motors.

[PennyQuilts]

If Oklahoma law requires any specific percent of profit, this is the first I've ever heard of it and I worked for many years for a big retail chain. That really doesn't seem any more constitutional than the president of the US being able to fire the CEO of General Motors, now known as Government Motors.

I recall first husband saying something about it, but that was decades ago and I recall the particulars.

[Larry OKC]

If Oklahoma law requires any specific percent of profit, this is the first I've ever heard of it and I worked for many years for a big retail chain. That really doesn't seem any more constitutional than the president of the US being able to fire the CEO of General Motors, now known as Government Motors.

Wish I had saved it but it is a decades old law. I became aware of it a couple of years ago when the were trying to change the time period of the invoice they could base the price and required 6% and up profit on. The emphasis at the time was that the bill would lead to even higher gas prices. When I looked up the bill and the particular statute, discovered it wasn't limited to gasoline purchases but applied to all retail and wholesale.