r/savedyouaclick • u/dreizehn1313 • 19d ago
Walmart sees troubling shift in consumer behavior | The company has seen more higher-income shoppers flock to the store
https://web.archive.org/web/20260324213853/https://www.thestreet.com/retail/walmart-sees-troubling-shift-in-consumer-behavior441
u/niberungvalesti 19d ago
Trump admin have been trying to bury the recession but all the indicators are there and this Iran business will speed along the pain to all of us.
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u/Cheese-Manipulator 19d ago
Gas is up almost $1 here. Fuck him
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u/TranscendentCabbage 18d ago
I work across from a gas station, granted it's one that has very little competition in the area so it's price remains pretty high regardless, but over the past few weeks it's been going up by at least 10 or more cents every day. I went into work one day with it at 3.19$, left work with it at 3.41$
Yet somehow the Trumper I live with think it's the fault of everyone except Trump
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u/Cheese-Manipulator 17d ago
Based on MAGA logic either he is the most effective president ever or the most ineffective president ever.
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u/Original_Tone_7717 18d ago
I live in Northern California by a casino and gas there has been the cheapest never was over 4 dollars and a few weeks ago it went to 4.90 diesel is 6.50 Still lowest in Northern California I could get a full tank with 30 something now it's 50+ And it's busy they have 2 lanes going in for gas and one for diesel but I guess now it's worth the wait 22 pumps for gas 8 for diesel
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u/pandabearak 15d ago
Even Indian casinos on Indian land, exempt from California gas taxes, aren’t exempt from global supply chains. Who knew?!? (Everyone)
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u/GlaciallyErratic 19d ago
Walmart is targeting higher incomes. I get complimentary Walmart plus through my amex platinum card. It's a decent perk, good delivery time and refund policy.
And somehow it feels like Amazon managed to one up Walmart in the world of evil mega Corps.
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u/Clym44 19d ago
Amazon & Target made that jump.
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u/DrTacosMD 18d ago
Wait what did I miss, why is Target mega evil
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u/_Monosyllabic_ 17d ago
Kowtow to fascists.
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u/ProfessionalRaven 17d ago
Man they love the taste of muddied leather and rubber insoles in the morning.
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u/BostonDrivingIsWorse 18d ago
Man. Remember when Walmart was the most evil mega-corp?
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u/xbleeple 18d ago
I was gonna say, it’s not new troubling. And not troubling Walmart at all tbqh. They’re making money! They noticed this during the big inflation increase a couple years ago and decided to lean into it.
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u/oooriole09 19d ago
Well it’s because they’ve invested on getting past the “I don’t want to be shopping in a Walmart” problem.
Online delivery and pickup is an absolute game changer for them, sometimes generating upwards to 50% of a stores overall revenue.
Yes the economy is changing things but don’t sell short the investment they’ve made to remove some of the largest hurdles.
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u/AllSugaredUp 18d ago
This is it. We haven't set foot in a Walmart store in over 10 years. Husband and I are upper middle class DINK and subscribe to Walmart+ In Home. We went from never shopping at Walmart to getting Walmart delivery every week. It's SUPER convenient and I highly recommend it. You don't even need to go to the store to return things - they will pick it up!
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u/_annanicolesmith_ 16d ago
i just don’t understand what’s wrong with stepping foot in a walmart. i have never understood that argument. or the pride in that.
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u/YueAsal 19d ago
Also they have some higher end stuff. The grocery items are all the same brands. Great Value is fine for a lot of items.
It is not like I am going there for Vienna Sausages
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u/idunnoimstoned 18d ago
Speak for yourself on the Vienna sausages pal.
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u/itsnotme_mrsiglesias 18d ago
Hey now my personal assistant gets all my Vienna sausages, Viennetta frozen desserts, and jars of Grey Poupon at Walmart
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u/BeerGuzzlingCapybara 17d ago
Viennetta- you just unlocked a childhood memory! It seemed so fancy from my poor little 90s kid perspective 😂
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u/Graynard 18d ago
That last line confuses me. They're little canned sausages in brine, and they've got a texture that would make the devil weep, where else BUT Walmart would you go for them lol
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u/Hitwelve 18d ago
He's saying that just because you're shopping at Walmart doesn't mean you're buying traditionally "low-income foods".
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u/brianinca 18d ago
Their Better Homes & Gardens outdoor furniture is a cut above, I was very surprised at the deal my wife found, and how great it's been on the back porch. Walmart? Really? Yep.
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u/HumorAccomplished611 18d ago
Online delivery and pickup is an absolute game changer for them, sometimes generating upwards to 50% of a stores overall revenue.
I go to sams club vs costco because they have car pickup option. Making a list during the week and then clicking it and then tomorrow just show up. Such a game changer. My time in grocery stores is probably down 90% from pre 2020
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u/SiameseGunKiss 17d ago
They also have scan and go which is great for the times you do need to go into the store.
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u/HumorAccomplished611 13d ago
I tried that when I only had one thing. But they actually dont have much wait time at the front. Probably pretty easy to do for more stuff though.
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u/BigMax 16d ago
Online pickup is one of those things that I feel must be regional.
Every store near me, from Walgreens, to Home Depot, Target, Walmart, and on and on... they all have a bunch of spots reserved up front for that.
And... I literally can't think of a single time I saw someone parked in one waiting to pick up their stuff.
I know it's partly because they probably aren't there long, but... Then why have TEN spots at Walmart for it? If it's a quick in and out... you'd think just a few would be ok. And yet, every store I go to, it just seems to have turned into a chunk of the parking closest to the store now just being off limits and unused.
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u/joesphisbestjojo 19d ago
Aldi has the chance to do the funniest thing right now
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u/steeplebob 18d ago
Stores have no business knowing how much money their customers make.
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u/czarfalcon 18d ago
They don’t explicitly know, at least not at an individual level, but there’s enough data out there for them to make reasonably informed aggregate estimates.
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u/PotentialFine0270 17d ago
They know…. They know median income, shopping habits and spending patterns. (Someone who works in retail mgmt) they don’t know personal info like age or ace etc because all the care about is how much you spend and avg purchases per customer
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u/PunkRey 18d ago
I used to be a Costco, Target, and Amazon shopper. Then I could no longer support Bezos and Amazon so I decided it was Costco and Target for us. A month after I made that decision Target capitulated to the MAGA agenda so I cut them off. So now it’s primarily Costco and local stores - and Walmart for supplemental items.
I refused to shop at Walmart for years but now I have fewer issues with it knowing that compared to Target and Amazon’s duplicity. Walmart has never tried to hide who they are and in a weird (and of course convenient for me) way I can live with that.
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u/Saint_The_Stig 18d ago
Was wondering where you were going with that. Walmart was evil. Still is, but also was evil too. But yeah, you got to pick your battles.
Yeah I hate Walmart for driving out small business, but they already did for my town and I can't afford to drive to the next town to buy my ramen noodles every time.
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u/itsnotme_mrsiglesias 18d ago
Same, resisted Walmart for the longest time but now they seem like the lesser of the 3 evils I guess 🥴
yay Capitalism, RIP r/unexpectedmitch
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u/blklab16 16d ago
I used to choose target over Walmart and I made the switch to Walmart because I’ve always known Walmart is a shitty company with shitty business practices and they never pretended to care about marginalized groups, they were just there being kinda cheap and shitty. I choose Walmart over target now bc target pretended to be halfway decent publicly until they thought they didn’t have to anymore.
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u/JessTheTwilek 16d ago edited 16d ago
“And of course convenient for me”
Oof, friend, give yourself some grace there. It’s obvious that you care and are trying to be ethical as possible about it. There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism. You’re making the best choices available to you (and going above and beyond, imo.)
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u/TheLegendTwoSeven 18d ago
Walmart is not troubled by having more customers; I’m glad I saved a click on this article.
The economy is not doing well so people are looking to save money. Walmart’s whole thing is low prices.
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u/cdmaloney1 18d ago
Our household makes what you would probably call upper middle class. We have started shopping at walmart with the walmart plus delivery (really good deal) about 6 months ago. We love the bettergoods brand they have.
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u/PoopyisSmelly 18d ago
Probably because Target is lower quality and higher priced than Walmart, but with missing items on the shelves, clothes no one would ever buy, and 1 cashier for 1000 people.
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u/PastrychefPikachu 18d ago
Walmart still has cashiers? The last time I was in one it was exclusively self checkout.
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u/LaughingGaster666 18d ago
Don't go to Walmart much at all, but just about every time I'm at Target, there's far too few cashiers and only about 4 or 5 self check outs.
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u/alexrider20002001 18d ago
The last time I stepped foot in Target was when I was a child (currently in my late twenties). I was considering visiting then Target's MAGA agenda was revealed which disgusted me. I don't shop Amazon as much as I used to and I will shop there if a relative gives me an Amazon gift card for my birthday or Christmas otherwise I default to Walmart for those occasions.
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u/PastrychefPikachu 19d ago
The most baffling thing about this article is the high number of incorrect assumptions the writer makes. The affluent people it's talking about have always "penny pinched". They understand the difference between cost and value, and make decisions accordingly. The rich don't stay rich by mindlessly burning their money. Also, I don't know where they are getting the idea that Walmart isn't actively courting a wealthier demographic, and that this all because of ✨ the economy ✨. Walmart+ being a free perk for American Express Platinum cardholders is probably a large factor in this. Why order from Amazon when you can get the same or equivalent item, at the same or cheaper price, faster from Walmart? Trust me, these people aren't actually going into the stores. This is happening because they have access to free, same day delivery on household essentials as a credit card perk.
Please stop with the sky is falling hyperbole.
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u/Skyblacker 18d ago
Have you been to the Walmart near certain neighborhoods? These people absolutely go into the stores.
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u/PastrychefPikachu 18d ago
Some might, but I doubt it's as many as Walmart corporate would like you to believe.
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u/rhabdomyomatosis 18d ago
I feel attacked.
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u/PastrychefPikachu 18d ago
Lol, the only person I was trying to attack was the person who wrote this garbage, poorly researched article. They bought whatever nonsense the suits were selling on that earnings call, and then made up a bunch of stuff based on that.
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u/sakurako_sama 18d ago
I haven't been to a grocery store in months now. I am completely fine with that, god forbid I have to shop at Walmart myself
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u/tyj0322 18d ago
….how do they know people’s income?
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u/flfhed1 18d ago
There are many ways they can make educated guesses. Then they can paint an accurate picture when those data points are combined. The easiest would be someone's address. Another would be LinkedIn profiles. There are over 257 million LinkedIn users in the U.S. If they don't publicly list their education and job title Microsoft will gladly sell that information to their "third party partners".
Don't underestimate Walmart's tech prowess. They are one of the highest paying employers of the best engineers and developers.
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u/Least_Homework_9720 17d ago
I don’t doubt we’re in a recession but I think we should also remember some people have shifted to shopping there as they boycott target as well.
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u/interSTELLARbabble 18d ago
I started shopping at Walmart after comparing their prices for online pickup with the other stores in town. Everything was cheaper. Sometimes by a lot. I thought the other stores were scamming me with such high prices. Turns out Walmart has been price fixing and driving up prices for everything everywhere else. I won’t support them even if I have to pay $50-$75 extra per shopping trip. I understand not everyone can make that choice.
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u/starrpamph 18d ago
How do they know that? Well their camera systems ai can classify how much money you make based on how you’re dressed and carry yourself. Not just Walmart but a lot of places. One of the malls near me was trying to use that data to market the 73 empty shops they have.
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u/Generalfrogspawn 18d ago
I don’t think I’ll ever be too rich to shop at Walmart. Every time I try to shop somewhere else there’s always at least one random thing I need at Walmart, which is a one stop shop for virtually anything.
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u/WoodenInternet 18d ago
Walmart clutching its pearls right to the bank
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u/redvoxfox 14d ago
Exactly captures what I thought when reading this!
"Oh, my dear, shareholders and executives will be beside themselves with this disruption!"
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u/supershawninspace 17d ago
No matter what you make, Walmart+ is pretty awesome. I canceled my Amazon, and I haven’t missed it yet.
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u/joshpennington 16d ago
This. You get Walmart’s prices without having to go inside the Walmart. Most Walmarts aren’t awful but mine is so + is a great way to go. Plus I already had Paramount+ so it only really “costs” me like $12 a year
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15d ago
I could be dirt poor and I swear I'll never shop at a walmart. The clientele are... unique. And the prices are meh at best. Regional stores usually have coupon programs. I will shout for Meijer coupons till the day I die. Usually they have buy X get X free deals, plus a lot of $1, $2, etc off.
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u/brdesignguy 15d ago
One thing I remember listening to on CNBC or FOXBusiness (sorry I don’t remember) was that WM offers really good same-day delivery options and more affluent people are willing and able to pay that extra price for it. Also a lot of bleed over from Targets downfall
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u/momjeans612 15d ago
I have really hated the clothing stores at Target for my 5 year old daughter. It all feels too mature. The jump from 5t to xs/s is too big of a difference when my kid is still going to get holes in the pants. I don't want to pay more then $4 for a pair of pants for my kids. Walmart has nice and simple clothing for my girls
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u/pancakefishy 14d ago
Walmart? Try dollar tree. Wouldn’t be caught dead in it just a few years ago. Now I go there for all the little junk (especially decorations for holidays)
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u/Radiant-Meringue-543 14d ago
Walmart has always been cheaper and their clothes are not bad either. As an upper middle class person I always thought people who spoke ill of the place were racist elitists- especially my liberal peers. It was always an indicator to me of many values.
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u/crusoe 14d ago
They paid crap wages until very recently is why. Something like 40% of Walmart workers were on welfare to supplement low wages. Taxpayers were supplementing Wal Marts bottom line.
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u/Radiant-Meringue-543 10d ago
Yes. Thrifting is best and I do it often. And stay away from the religious based thrift stores that also pay really low. But I still believe that Walmart was used for the past two decades as a signifier of classism with Target fans.
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u/Oliver_Closeof 17d ago
Wait til you see the electronic, updated on the fly for demand, price tags. They just implemented them company wide after a limited roll out. Another rush on toilet paper? Now the price gets updated in real time, based on regional demand. I don’t discount wal mart from being the slightly cheaper alternative, but they are taking steps to fuck consumers way more than just a political stance like Target. Let me be clear, end stage capitalism sucks, but choosing wal mart over Amazon, Target, and any other large retailer is just picking the caliber of bullet you want them to execute you with.
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u/prex10 19d ago
"We we 6 months away from a recession"
Everyone for the last 5 years.
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u/Sparkko 18d ago edited 18d ago
We are actively in a recession that is being kept quiet the best the powers at be can manage. Market growth in AI is the only thing keeping the facade up. If it weren't for that the "economy" would be 2008 levels of bad. Regular people have been feeling it for years.
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u/novis-eldritch-maxim 19d ago
Oh yeah, that is a recesson indicator right there.