Do You Shop Where America Shops?
I was reading an article last week that I thought was very interesting. It was entitled WHERE AMERICA SHOPS, BY PRODUCT 2007. The study was completed by AlixPartners.
Basically the piece of research that was completed ranked on where America shops in 9 different categories. Here is the chart by category and I have highlighted where I shop:
WHERE AMERICA SHOPS, BY PRODUCT, 2007
| 1ST Choice | 2nd Choice | |
| Alcoholic beverages | Liquor store (44%) | Wal-Mart (16%) |
| Athletic shoes | Foot Locker (30%) | Wal-Mart (21%) |
| Casual clothing | Wal-Mart (34%) | JCPenney (27%) |
| Home products | Wal-Mart (54%) | Target (30%) |
| Home technology | Best Buy (61%) | Circuit City (44%) |
| Non-alcoholic beverages | Wal-Mart (38%) | Target (16%) |
| Over-the-counter medications | Wal-Mart (65%) | Walgreens (33%) |
| Personal hygiene | Wal-Mart (62%) | Target (24%) |
| Ready-to-eat/ non-perishable foods | Wal-Mart (52%) | Target (25%) |
SOURCE: AlixPartners (Click here for the full chart)
Clearly I don’t shop where America shops. In fact in the Athletic Shoes category, my choice isn’t even in the top 5. Wal-Mart almost had a clean sweep. How long before they take over the top spot in the other three categories?
Where do you shop?
Do you shop where America shops?
I look forward to your comments.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:13 am
WOW!
I think Wal-mart has the corner on the rural markets; and in some places is the only box store option for shoppers. I know that local businesses in my community fought to the death to keep Wal-mart out of our area; because they can’t compete with their prices and abundance of merchandise.
I personally think we should support the local guy and keep Wal-mart’s to a minimum. The Walton’s have enough money; support your neighbor!
September 24th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Wal-Mart allows many people to make ends meet as they live from paycheck to paycheck. They also give people the opportunity to join the work force with little or no experience, they employ millions of people in the U.S. alone. If you look at the numbers, there is a net economic gain when Wal-Mart comes into a community. They provide jobs and offer lower prices for people. Lower prices allow low income people to buy the goods they need to live. For the middle class it gives them more disposable income to buy those items that might otherwise be considered luxury items to them. And before you ask, no, I am not on Wal-Marts payroll. I’m just a student of economics and looking at the raw data, emotions aside, Wal-Mart is good business. I would argue even for those mom and pop stores. Not the ones that try and compete with items that Wal-Mart carries but for those that carry items not carried by Wal-Mart, because the savings Wal-Mart passes along allows people to shop at these mom and pop stores more than they normally would. I make enough money to not shop at Wal-Mart if I so chose too, but why would I throw money away when I don’t have to, there are plenty of other items I can buy out there that Wal-Mart doesn’t carry. Good topic Merrill.
September 27th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Supporting your neighbor is a idealistic thought. I live in a small rural area with limited choices. Our little town lives off of tourism, particularly in the summer months. There are plenty of high priced, specialty stores for the tourists. Locals need the prices, variety, and jobs that our super Wal-Mart offers. I have to agree with b4itsover on this one.