Why Are Wal-Mart Sales in a Slump?

Why Are Wal-Mart Sales in a Slump?

Maybe for the same reason I prefer not to shop at Wally World. I do shop at Wal-Mart but only because it's a less expensive on a few items I purchase in quantity - cat litter, dog food, books, etc. It is also very convenient - on my way home and close to my bank. Period. I try to buy most of the items at Winco if the prices on items are fairly close.

I find the Wal-Mart stores have narrow aisles, big crowds, very little customer service and not very clean. And, it really, really irks me that they start stocking shelves at about 8:30 or 9pm in the evening. I shop there at night and it is very annoying to have to leave your cart outside the aisle, squeeze into the aisle to get your desired items, squeeze back out, etc. Then, you have to dodge the big forklifts being driven through the main aisles as you shop. Lastly, the employees place huge pallets of merchandise back to back in the main aisles throughout the store, making the shopper walk almost the full length of the store to get into specific aisles/departments. I feel the customer is more important than stocking the store - in my opinion, they should start the restocking process AFTER the store is closed.

When I go to my local Target (2nd largest retailer in the US) stores, I find a clean store with wide aisles, a good selection of merchandise and helpful staff members. And, I've never seen them restocking no matter how late I shop. However, the stores closest to me are at inconvenient locations so I seldom shop there. Their prices are a little higher than Wal-Mart and they don't include some departments whereas at Wal-Mart I can purchase all these items in one store/stop.

At Winco, I find the prices close to Wal-mart, a cleaner store, wider aisles, a better staff and open 24 hours a day. But, they don't include some of the departments that Wal-Mart has.

Perhaps these are some of the reasons, Wal-Mart's sales are not doing so good. If I shop there twice a month instead of twice a week, that means lowers sales for them. If thousands of customers do likewise, that is a lot of dollars moving away from Wal-Mart.
According to Bloomberg, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., expects US same-store sales to be unchanged this month. That would mean the worst performance in over six years. Sales at stores open at least a year increased 4.3 percent in November 2005. October same-store sales gained 0.5 percent, matching the estimate released five days ago, per a statement from Wal-Mart Stores earlier today (11/2/06). Wal-Mart initially forecasted an October sales gain of 2 - 4 percent. Wal-Mart said "disappointing clothing sales and disarray from store renovations hurt October results." Remodeling at most of their stores should be completed within two weeks. Another 600 stores still need to be renovated, but it will not be done until early 2007.
Target Corp., said today October same-store sales gained 3.9 percent. Hmm, maybe the American consumer likes the cleaner look, less crowds, the wider aisles and the fact that they do NOT restock when the store in open.
In September of this year, Wal-Mart had a same-store sales gain of 1.3 percent. At Target, well, they came in with an almost 7 % (6.7%) increase over September 2005 last year. Hmm, maybe the American consumer likes the cleaner look, less crowds, the wider aisles and the fact that they do NOT restock when the store in open.
If the prices at Wal-Mart were not so much lower, and if they didn't have such a wide selection of merchandise (one-stop shopping), I'd probably never darken their doors again.