Polimom knows many folks who are regular Wal-Mart shoppers, but when the mega-store comes up in conversation, I almost invariably change the topic… because we’re not going to agree.
However, you may be disappointed to learn that my reasons are not ideological, but selfish and personal.
For instance: Even a right-brainer like Polimom, for whom Economics is just a very long four-letter-word, can easily grasp why small independent businesses are overwhelmed by the massive buying power of a monster on the scale of Wal-Mart… and I like small independents. They provide interest and variety and there’s a lot to be said, folks, for variety…. or haven’t you noticed that every kid in your child’s classroom is dressed alike?
You probably have, if there’s a Wal-Mart in your area, because your choices, and those of your neighbors, are limited to whatever the Wal-Mart buyers brought in this season.
There’s more to Polimom’s objections, of course, than “She’s wearing my dress” syndrome. My father used to tell me, “You get what you pay for”… and when it comes to Wal-Mart (and increasingly at the slightly stepped-up Target-level stores, too), his words are law. The very few times I’ve shopped at these mega-stores, my purchases have disintegrated within weeks or months.
Polimom detests disposable-goods thinking; I prefer to buy things that will last longer than a paycheck cycle.
And finally — I hate crowds and poor service, and Polimom has experienced both during every rare trip into Wal-Mart’s cavernous maw.
Oddly, many of the people I know agree with Polimom on most or all of these points, yet shop there anyway… and they tell me that they love it. Why? Because it’s cheap. Period, end of story.
Yes, they say, the quality is poor… but it’s cheap. Yes, it’s impossible to find anyone to help you, and even when one can find someone they don’t know where anything is… but it’s cheap.
Whether the consumer is a middle-class suburbanite who simply enjoys a bargain or an individual barely making it between paychecks, the demand for cheap goods is enormous… and this is why the battle against Wal-Mart is ultimately self-defeating. If Wal-Mart increases wages or benefits, they will pass those costs along and become another Target, thus leaving a hole in the cycle for someone else to create another mega-monster with the bottom line of cost.
Whether it’s through choice or necessity, that’s what people want.
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