Leaked Walmart memo reveals competitive threats

1) All the employees look sad, all he time.

2) They've obviously carefully tuned their check out staffing so that the lines are always long. This is such a constant that it has to be intentional, and they're doing a good job of it.

3) Sometimes they attempt to check receipts at exit. I don't get that at any other non-membership store.

4) All the shoppers look sad.

5) It's the only place I know where I am 100% guaranteed to smell both strong cigarette odor and way too-strong perfume application multiple times per visit.

6) The shoppers are uniquely talentless when it comes to existing in space without being in others' way. I don't see this anywhere else. It always feels 3x as busy as it is both because they cram the aisles full of crap, and because no-one knows how to walk or stand without being in the way. It's bizarre.

7) The most prominently-placed thing on entering the building is a row of gambling machines. I shit you not. They're directly ahead, and you have to veer right to enter the actual shopping area. That definitely sets a tone.

Most of these are true at any other Wal-Mart I visit. I avoid them most of the time, despite their having much lower prices than, say, target. The visits take longer and are miserable. Their weird interior color choices (WTF is up with that dirty-looking orangey-yellow?!) and something they do with the lighting (can't put my finger on it, it's just drab and dingy) make it even worse.

I'm about 90% sure that Wal-Mart didn't used to be this gross and unpleasant.

Not going to comment on the ethics/politics of it, but if people like shopping alongside people in their own stratum, then they have to accept that they have to pay a premium for it (i.e. shop at Whole Foods). You can't really say "I want to shop at the discount store but I also want only other wealthy people to be there".

If you accept that premise, then perhaps Walmart doesn't have an image problem, it's simply the fact that it's the cheapest place to shop in the neighborhood, so lower income folks will more likely shop there.

Consider Walmart’s weaknesses and how other companies address them.

- manually stocked shelves

Consider Costco’s model of placing pallets of product on the floor. Most Walmart’s have the vertical space to go up. Obviously redesigning their store experience is expensive and difficult with a stagnating industry and a lot of staff that don’t like tech or change. But these are not hard problems. For large items like boxes of soda and cereal, this is simple, just add some flimsy cardboard shelves holding the rows together. For beauty products and small items like that keep the system and layout the same to keep things simple, but start working with manufacturers on palletized displays that satisfy their in store image requirements.

- poor buy online pickup at store experience, both online and in store.

Make it easier to shop a particular local Walmart for pickup and only the stock in that store. The same goes for shopping online for shipping and only those products sold by Walmart. Having three different experiences is good for consumers, but make it easier for the customer to specify which one they want.

- the notorious Walmart experience, and the notorious people of Walmart

This is a tough one that I don’t have a good answer for besides look to target and Trader Joe’s for inspiration while hiring sociologists and the advertising company behind fidget spinners.

- online purchase, in store pickup experience

In years past it made sense to force customers to walk through the entire store to do some annoying task. These days? I pay more, sometimes a lot, to not have to enter a store, or speak to underpaid and overworked staff there. Punch some new doors on the side of the the building, put in a few reefer fridges, some more shelves, and have the in house developers crank out a contactless pickup web app. Include

- innovate

For things I buy all the time, I’m not time sensitive. Hook customers on something addictively convenient like weekly grocery delivery of their staples with Walmart’s plus subscription. Stuff like milk, eggs, bread, cheese, deli meat, etc. also, if I know I’m having a big party in two weeks and don’t want to deal with the groceries I’d love a reliable way to 60 fresh avocados, 10 cases of beer, 20 bags of chips, and 30 pounds of meat without going to multiple stores. Right now the only way I can do this is by ringing the manager of the store and placing a special order. It shouldn’t even be that hard to logistically handle the ebbs and flow of demand. Problem is can someone build such a system profitably? If Walmart can’t, I doubt anyone could.

The Walmart near me isn't like this. Only #2 is true.

Walmart is probably the #1 big box store where I live. Everyone shops there, rich and poor alike. It's clean, the people are fine and the staff are as happy as any other big box store staff. The Walmarts in the adjacent towns are similar. Most Walmarts I've seen are about like this. The tire center will have a Festiva in one bay and a Tesla in the nest

The Walmart near my work is very different. Way more dismal in all the ways you've described. I dunno about the gambling thing, that may vary by state and I've never seen it anywhere. But where I work has enough wealthy people to support other stores so the Walmart clientele is much poorer on average. I've been in probably a dozen Walmarts over the years and it's by far the worst.

If Walmart started treating their staff like Costco we’d see a lot happier staff, and pay less taxes on entitlements.