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[therealist]

Walmart is crushing expectations while dozens of other retailers are closing stores and filing for bankruptcy at rates not seen since the recession.

Walmart on Thursday reported that e-commerce sales soared by 63% in its most recent quarter, compared with 29% growth the prior quarter. The company said most of these sales were organic through Walmart.com.

Walmart's $3 billion acquisition of the online retailer Jet.com also helped the company boost e-commerce sales.

But Walmart's growth isn't all online.

The company said sales at US stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, grew by 1.4%, beating analyst expectations of 1.3% and marking the 10th consecutive quarter of same-store sales growth.

The growth was driven by a 1.5% increase in customer traffic, the company said.

"We delivered a solid first quarter and we're encouraged by the start to the year," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said. "We're moving faster to combine our digital and physical assets to make shopping simple and easy for customers. Our plan is gaining traction."

Walmart's upbeat results came after disappointing earnings reports from JCPenney, Macy's, and Nordstrom and against a backdrop of overall distress in the retail industry marked by sliding sales and traffic.

Retailers are closing more than 3,600 stores this year to stanch losses and filing for bankruptcy at a staggering rate.

Walmart is now eating up their lost market share, according to Moody's analyst Charlie O'Shea.

http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-just-proved-its-immune-to-the-retail-apocalypse-2017-5

Walmart has figured out how to withstand the retail apocalypse and grow it's brick and mortar sales. My guess is that Walmart's customers are low income and not as savvy when it comes to buying online as the customers of Target or department stores. Also, I went to Walmart over the weekend and saw they sell 1 gallon milk for $1.38 and a dozen eggs fro 40 cents. WTF. You can't beat that.

 

[Zophar]

Walmart is 1/2 the reason *for* the retail apocalypse. They have pushed so many other players out of the market simply by offering everything.

 

[Yazzees]

Walmart is 1/2 the reason *for* the retail apocalypse. They have pushed so many other players out of the market simply by offering everything.

Kinda like what reddit did to the internet and look where that got us :|

 

[Skellig Gra]

Why pay more for stuff when you don't have to? They have some dirt cheap ass stuff.

 

[Dishwalla]

Well they sure aren't improving the quality of their stores. Their stock sucks and for some damn reason they still can't figure out how to operate more than 6-8 registers at a time, when they have like two dozen of them.

 

[h1nch]

Cannot remember the last time I set foot in a Walmart. A fact I am somewhat proud of.

 

[Fat4all]

they improved their deli sandwiches

I got a tavern sandy there the other day and it was groovy

Cannot remember the last time I set foot in a Walmart. A fact I am somewhat proud of.

cannot remember the last time i set foot in a foot locker. a fact i am somewhat proud of.

 

[DOWN]

Why pay more for stuff when you don't have to? They have some dirt cheap ass stuff.

That's the common public mindset, but the reason you might want to pay more is because some companies are much better for their workers and communities than Wal Mart

 

[Goro Majima]

Kinda interesting since I have a bunch of friends that got hit by the round of layoffs they did at the home office.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Walmart is 1/2 the reason *for* the retail apocalypse. They have pushed so many other players out of the market simply by offering everything.

20 or 30 years ago, when Walmart's presence shut down a lot of Mom & Pop shops, sure. But now? Walmart's market share is increasing, but it's been slow and steady growth for a long time.

In contrast, Amazon didn't sell its first book until 1995. And it was seen as only a retailer of books into the early 2000s. Now it is dominant in e-commerce and sells anything you could possibly need. The current retail apocalypse has far more to do with Amazon and e-commerce as a whole than it does with Walmart.

 

[Skellig Gra]

That's the common public mindset, but the reason you might want to pay more is because some companies are much better for their workers and communities than Wal Mart

Like Amazon right?

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-just-proved-its-immune-to-the-retail-apocalypse-2017-5

Walmart has figured out how to withstand the retail apocalypse and grow it's brick and mortar sales. My guess is that Walmart's customers are low income and not as savvy when it comes to buying online as the customers of Target or department stores. Also, I went to Walmart over the weekend and saw they sell 1 gallon milk for $1.38 and a dozen eggs fro 40 cents. WTF. You can't beat that.

ALso, the other stores are closing, so those shoppers have to shop somewhere

 

[Earthbound64]

Walmart is 1/2 the reason *for* the retail apocalypse. They have pushed so many other players out of the market simply by offering everything.

Seriously, pretty much by definition their market share and sales increase as a direct result of their competitors closing stores.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Well they sure aren't improving the quality of their stores. Their stock sucks and for some reason they still can't figure out how to operate more than 6-8 registers at a time, when they have like two dozen of them.

Thank goodness for self-checkout. But it's always "hilarious" to see 40 staffed lanes and only 4 open and long lines and each of them.

 

[Earthbound64]

Why pay more for stuff when you don't have to? They have some dirt cheap ass stuff.

That's the common public mindset, but the reason you might want to pay more is because some companies are much better for their workers and communities than Wal Mart

Like Amazon right?

No, like local stores.

 

[Ricky_R]

I go to Walmart once in a while for something specific, but I mostly use Amazon now.

 

[Dishwalla]

I will say though while I have a general disdain for their Supercenters, Walmart Neighborhood Markets are usually pretty good.

Thank goodness for self-checkout. But it's always "hilarious" to see 40 staffed lanes and only 4 open and long lines and each of them.

Many Supercenters still don't have self checkout, and again lots of times when they do they are shut down, for some reason.

 

[Metalingus5150]

They have a good return policy on certain things.

 

[Fat4all]

No, like local stores.

what, like Dollar Tree?

 

[supergiz]

Do other countries have regulations against giants like Walmart? I've been to Europe & Japan yet haven't seen any Walmarts there. Seems like the selection is more varied, although there are of course megastores.

 

[Schlep]

Very rarely (3-4 times a year) we'll stop by the Walmart Neighborhood Market for something. I can't do their superstores. Just stepping foot in there sends my anxiety through the roof.

 

[Skellig Gra]

No, like local stores.

What local stores? It's basically all restaurants and bars at this point.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Many Supercenters still don't have self checkout, and again lots of times when they do they are shut down, for some reason.

That's true. My closest one didn't, and I would just go to one a bit further away. Fortunately, the closer one added 12 self-checkout options (8 on the grocery side of the store, 4 on the other) within the past year. Each of these store's self-checkout lanes are usually always open, too.

I'm not going to a store without self-checkout.

 

[Chumly]

Thank goodness for self-checkout. But it's always "hilarious" to see 40 staffed lanes and only 4 open and long lines and each of them.

Self checkouts are just as bad. Half of them will be closed for some reason and they refuse to turn the others on even when there are 4-5 people in each line

 

[AColdDay]

Wal-Mart has one thing that other retailers really need to adapt to to survive in the Amazon age: Site to Store free shipping.

I should be able to look online at your store's inventory (online and in-store), buy something and go to you to pick it up. If you have it right then and there, fantastic, I would pay a premium on that for that convenience. If I have to wait, then I the price better be lower than what I can get it from Amazon.

I wanted to buy some books online from Books-A-Million but with shipping it would have cost me much more than just buying it from Amazon. I would have purchased it in store and picked up some other books while I was in there if I could have just shipped it to the store at no cost, but they don't have the logistics expertise to make that a reality.

 

[cr0w]

they improved their deli sandwiches

I got a tavern sandy there the other day and it was groovy



cannot remember the last time i set foot in a foot locker. a fact i am somewhat proud of.

Cannot remember the last time I set foot in a prison. A fact I am somewhat proud of.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Self checkouts are just as bad. Half of them will be closed for some reason and they refuse to turn the others on even when there are 4-5 people in each line

Years ago, when I lived in a different city, the closest Walmart's self-checkout lanes were almost never open, which was absolutely ridiculous. If you have them, open them.

As referenced in my prior post, stores closer to me now do not have that particular problem. Better management? Improved policies? No idea, but I'm happy with my current options.

 

[Zophar]

20 or 30 years ago, when Walmart's presence shut down a lot of Mom & Pop shops, sure. But now? Walmart's market share is increasing, but it's been slow and steady growth for a long time.

In contrast, Amazon didn't sell its first book until 1995. And it was seen as only a retailer of books into the early 2000s. Now it is dominant in e-commerce and sells anything you could possibly need. The current retail apocalypse has far more to do with Amazon and e-commerce as a whole than it does with Walmart.

Walmart hasn't stopped opening stores though, and they continue to strategically introduce locations (esp. Neighborhood Markets) in areas where they're likely to suck up a lot of existing business.

 

[Barzul]

I live in Arkansas and if there's one thing we've got it's a shit ton of Walmarts lol. It's so convenient really as like many have said they have everything. I will do Kroger now and then for produce as theirs always seem to be fresher.

 

[cr0w]

They opened up one of those Neighborhood Markets nearby, the strictly grocery store. Shits all over the standard Wal-Mart. Produce is fresh, good selection, and most people are wearing shoes.

 

[Sophia]

Wal-Mart has one thing that other retailers really need to adapt to to survive in the Amazon age: Site to Store free shipping.

I should be able to look online at your store's inventory (online and in-store), buy something and go to you to pick it up. If you have it right then and there, fantastic, I would pay a premium on that for that convenience. If I have to wait, then I the price better be lower than what I can get it from Amazon.

I wanted to buy some books online from Books-A-Million but with shipping it would have cost me much more than just buying it from Amazon. I would have purchased it in store and picked up some other books while I was in there if I could have just shipped it to the store at no cost, but they don't have the logistics expertise to make that a reality.

Some places do have that. I've ordered outfits on JCPenney (one of the few retailers with an explicit "tall" section) and had it shipped directly to the store to pick up. It was really handy, and I didn't have to pay and shipping costs for it. >.<

As for Wal-Mart, in our town they're awfully convenient because we don't have a lot of stores here in general. So while there's a few local grocery stores, Wal-Mart is pretty much all there is for a lot stuff in their supercenter. Anything else, and you have to drive at least an hour away.

 

[YoungFa]

Will see how they fend of lidl and aldi over the next few years.

 

[mreddie]

Target seems like a more saner Wal-Mart

 

[Earthbound64]

what, like Dollar Tree?

What local stores? It's basically all restaurants and bars at this point.

I'm sorry that your areas have killed off all local businesses.
There are still some good ones around here.

Hahaha rekt

Not really, no.

 

[Vanillalite]

Best idea Walmart had in years.

 

[JdFoX187]

That's true. My closest one didn't, and I would just go to one a bit further away. Fortunately, the closer one added 12 self-checkout options (8 on the grocery side of the store, 4 on the other) within the past year. Each of these store's self-checkout lanes are usually always open, too.

I'm not going to a store without self-checkout.

The problem with the addition of those self check lines, at least at the stores near me, is that they came at the expense of the express checkout lanes. So it's either stand in line at the self checkout line, watching idiots with baskets full of stuff try to scan each item and bag it in the slower manner possible while constantly requiring the assistance of a customer service representative to unlock the machine each time they fuck it up, or go stand in a line behind multiple people with full baskets when I only need a handful of items.

 

[pretty done]

Like Amazon right?

Hahaha rekt

No way Walmart treats their employees as bad as Amazon does.

 

[cr0w]

Target seems like a more saner Wal-Mart

Target has even bigger problems with having registers open. The whole store is empty and so quiet you can hear a mouse fart, but as soon as you're ready to check out you're in a 15-person line, two registers are open and everyone's kid is screaming bloody murder.

 

[Kusagari]

Who is buying stuff on their terrible website?

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Walmart hasn't stopped opening stores though, and they continue to strategically introduce locations (esp. Neighborhood Markets) in areas where they're likely to suck up a lot of existing business.

Yes, but that's relatively slow growth at this point, especially when compared with e-commerce essentially not existing in any substantial way 20 to 25 years ago.

I just think it's weird to blame Walmart for the retail apocalypse. They have a role, but it seems to be a small role compared to other factors.

 

[Dishwalla]

When people say that Walmart has everything, they really don't. Was just in one the other day looking for ant traps that are safe to use around pets(namely my cat) and they didn't have anything I was looking for, everything had warnings not to use them around small animals and children. Went over to Target and boom, found a box of ant traps that aren't hazardous to pets right off the bat.


It was the same thing a while back when I was looking for a digital bathroom scale, couldn't find shit at Walmart, found one right away at Target.

 

[cr0w]

Who is buying stuff on their terrible website?

*raises hand*

Was the only place I could find the Lethal Weapon 4-pack Blu-Ray for under $20.

 

[Chris R]

Well they sure aren't improving the quality of their stores. Their stock sucks and for some damn reason they still can't figure out how to operate more than 6-8 registers at a time, when they have like two dozen of them.

6-8 registers? Where is this paradise???

Last time I went into Walmart there were THREE registers open. Two "15 items or less" lines and one regular line. Of course there were idiots with 50+ items in their full cart rolling up to the "quick" lines and the cashiers/managers were doing nothing about it. Haven't been back since.

 

[Fat4all]

Cannot remember the last time I set foot in a prison. A fact I am somewhat proud of.

well la-dee-da, look at mr roosevelt over here

 

[Earthbound64]

*raises hand*

Was the only place I could find the Lethal Weapon 4-pack Blu-Ray for under $20.

You mean this?

 

[therealist]

Will see how they fend of lidl and aldi over the next few years.

The only reason people go to those stores is the cheap prices, but Walmart has already undercut their prices of milk and if they really wanted to they could probably sell a gallon for 99 cents.

 

[Fat4all]

You mean this?

What's the point if it doesn't have Lethal Weapon 5 or 6?

 

[Zophar]

Yes, but that's relatively slow growth at this point, especially when compared with e-commerce essentially not existing in any substantial way 20 to 25 years ago.

I just think it's weird to blame Walmart for the retail apocalypse. They have a role, but it seems to be a small role compared to other factors.

I'm not blaming them exclusively by any means, though I think you're also understating the significance of their impact. The retail industry is imploding right now in large part because it has been pushed further and further toward a cliff over the last few decades by Walmart (and Target to a lesser extent). It's hard to see Amazon becoming what it is today without an already-gutted retail sector to capitalize on.

 

[Goro Majima]

Consolidation of the retail space was pretty much the natural conclusion of globalization and the economy moving from a more regional base to a national and international base. Guys like Walmart didn't just wipe out the mom and pop's but also the regional chains.

If it wasn't Walmart, it was going to be someone else. The bigger issue is still workers rights in a global economy with increasing consolidation and automation.

Target has even bigger problems with having registers open. The whole store is empty and so quiet you can hear a mouse fart, but as soon as you're ready to check out you're in a 15-person line, two registers are open and everyone's kid is screaming bloody murder.

Oh god it's so true.

In general Target feels like a more fashionable and socially acceptable place to shop where you'll end up spending a little more money than Walmart. Their grocery section is asscheeks though with their milk usually about a few days from expiration since nobody buys it.

 

[digita1alchemy]

I wish Costco sold everything I needed so I wouldn't have to even consider Wal-Mart.