Walmart to Clean Up the Clutter
There are many things customers dislike about Walmart the massive big-box retailer has little intention of doing anything about. Long lines, relatively poor service, the Running of the Bulls atmosphere on Black Friday and the chaos throughout the holiday shopping season. The company sees no upside in fixing issues customers have come to expect. Sure, they might gripe a bit, but they keep coming in droves … so why fight it?
But that doesn’t mean the powers in control of Sam Walton’s commercial juggernaut are not trying to get better. They still want to boost sales. And they believe they have found a way to do that … and, coincidentally, make shopping better for their customers … maybe. According to a new article in the Wall Street Journal, Walmart plans to scale back on the number of products it offers in its brick and mortar stores, in, they said, an effort to improve sales. The motivation for this effort, according to the report, is an opportunity to deliver wider aisles and less clutter in their stores … something Walmart shoppers should cheer.
Of course, the opportunity to sell more products online plays a part in this decision. Walmart will not be SELLING less stuff. They will just be STOCKING less stuff. Which, they hope, will allow them to sell more. It’s an interesting gambit. Of all the various complaints Walmart customers tend to have, “too much choice” is rarely among them. People go to Walmart, chiefly, because you can get just about anything at Walmart. It’s one stop shopping. Overwhelming at times, and always tempting, but, ultimately convenient. At least when it helps customers reduce the number of stops they have to make. While this decision does not seem to address the issues customers discuss, it could provide a more pleasant shopping experience … creating a net win for both the store and its customers. The rub here is to be found in the “what” and the “when.” As in, “what will Walmart keep or remove” and “when will they do so?” The way the retailer answers these questions will go a long way toward determining the success of the venture. Jonah Engler is a financial expert from NYC.