Good (well bad for the economy I guess). I guess people are starting to realize they don't need the newest and best stuff at a given moment. Hopefully we will stop being so wasteful as a nation because of it.

I don't understand the claim that a disinterest in shopping drives people to Walmart. Don't the people who are driven to Walmart *shop* there?

Sounds more like people are just as interested in shopping as they ever were, but having less money to spend, they're changing where they shop.

Never. I would have to be living in a shoe box to shop at WalMart. That place is so skeezy, I feel the need to take a shower if I have to go in one.

Target all the way, baby. Clean, well stocked, cute clothes and shoes, good prices on DVDs. No after-shower required.

I wouldn't say downgraded. We just stopped buying shit we don't need. You'd be surprised how much disposable income that frees up. Problem is, the economy has been built on a foundation of people buying shit they don't need, so when people stop doing it all at the same time, hilarity ensues.

Sooner or later, we'll all be on a 30-hour work week (with smaller paychecks to match) because we simply produce way more crap than the economy can efficiently absorb with everyone working "full time."

So this means China will do just fine.

We never "downgraded" my family has shopped at Wal-Mart for as long as I can remember, and we arn't poor rednecks either, we're an upper middle class family but we've always found Wal-Mart to be the best option. However most of our grocery shopping is done at Kroger when possible just because it is only 3 minutes from our house.

@HurtsSoGood: we simply produce way more crap than the economy can efficiently absorb with everyone working "full time."

...but it's all made in China... we don't make any of it. ;)

Never shopped there, never will. They are a horrible company that is putting the burden on taxpayers to pay for their employees' lack of benefits. And their marketing schemes that trick people into thinking they're so much cheaper than the others is wrong.

I'm feeling the pinch of the recession, but I hate Wal-Mart so much that I would rather spend more money at Wegman's for groceries and small, local businesses for furniture and other goods. The Wegman's near me is always clean, has friendly cashiers, and is really not much more expensive than Wal-Mart (in some cases, it's even cheaper). The Wal-Mart constantly has lines of 30+ minutes (because they have 30 registers but only 5 of them open at a time); their produce is terrible; their prices are much higher than they were; and you can't find anyone to help you when needed.

@TheUncleBob: Good point. Still, there are more production capacity in the economy than there is demand for the goods produced.

I am a man of principles. I will gladly drive across town and pay a few extra dollars for the privilege of NOT giving them one red cent of revenue.

I would very much, however, like to get a list of wal-mart's loss leaders so that I can buy only loss leaders from their shops, thus driving their revenue down.

@Eldritch: Target all the way. Fair pay and benefits for employees while still being competetive. Imagine that!

here would be a good place to put this:

@kpetree10: I see obviously rich people shopping in Walmart here, and many of the well-known doctors in this city shop at Walmart, Sams club and Aldi. They are not afraid to shop at these stores. I think its a big myth that the upper-class shops at different stores than everyone else does, the truth is they shop where everyone else does.

We have been clipping coupons, buying things only when they are on sale, waiting for the best price before buying and buying clothes off season all to save money long before this recession thing made all those things cool again.

@Eldritch: I dunno, there are several Walmarts that I've gone to that are clean, well-stocked, and great prices.

Targets "cute clothes" don't fit anyone above a size 10, and forget it if you have boobs.

I cannot stand the stale popcorn and old McDonalds food smell that hits you when walking into a Wal-Mart! Or as it's said here in southern Ohio, The Wal-Marts... and the one armed greeter who tried to get me to shake his nub kind of bothered me too... The family who was taking a sink bath in the women's restroom was a turn off as well. In fact I seriously have used outdoor toilets in the jungles of Central America that were cleaner than that restroom was. There's more but I can't stomach it. I go to Kroger (The Krogers, for my Ohio friends and family) for food. BTW, the one armed greeter at Wal-Mart started working as a bagger at the Kroger I go to, man, is he slow!

@mbz32190: I think the increased shopping at Walmart puts paid to the less-wasteful theory. We're still buying stuff, we're just buying it cheaper.

@nakedscience: I'm busty and above a size 10, and I'm happy with my Target clothes. I suspect we're talking issues of individual store stock rather than the chain as a whole.

Who exactly are these people who didn't used to shop at WalMart but do now?

I still shop there very little, myself.

@floraposte: Another curvy, busty gal for target. i appreciate that they make some of their cute bras in DD too

@Eldritch: We have a brand new Walmart nearby (not a supercenter) and I *gulp* enjoy going there. There, I said it. I think it's because they took lessons from Target and tried to make the experience pleasant. It worked. The store is tidy, clean, well lit, and attractively arranged.

@nakedscience: I'm busty and not a size ten and their stuff fits me fine, in fact, I've had to go DOWN a size when I shop with them because I've found most lines (except for maybe the GO line), run big.

When I want a piece of low-priced crap, I shop at Walmart. They have the best selection of Chinese garbage ever assembled.

@edwardso: Discussing discount shopping and boobs in the same thread - win.

Amazingly enough, I shop less and still don't shop at Walmart. Largely because I'm spending less in total, but spending more on things that are of high quality. As you can imagine, Walmart doesn't fill that niche.

@floraposte: And the stuff at Wal-mart is not only "cheaper" but also cheap. It's mostly disposable plastic crap that will end up in a landfill three or four years from now, or cheaply made elecctronics that are already pratically obsolete when you purchase them. I can't think of anything Wal-Mart sells that is truly built to last. This isn't totally Wal-Mart's fault. A lot of things aren't made like they once were quality-wise no matter where you shop.

But Wal-Mart defnitely is not a place for truly durable goods.

There's certain things I'll buy at Walmart because they are identical to a product I'd buy elsewhere, but cheaper. I don't really care who sells me Eucerin Lotion or Purina dog food, just who has the best price on it. My local Walmart opened up in the past few years, and they did their homework on what people don't like about Walmart. It's got wide isles with wood/laminate floors, and everything is spotless. Also, there's more than enough people to ring up your items.

@Eldritch: I love Target in general, but since my local branch is the Atlantic Center Target, my visits have declined drastically the past couple years.

I think downgrading is a false perception of savings, for the most part. Wal-Mart can be cheaper than regular grocery stores, but by no means is it always cheaper. So I would say the best way to maximize your money is to check out the stores in the area, determine those with the cheapest prices on average, and wait for the sales to come and take advantage. Yes, it takes a little preparation, but I don't see how only shopping at Wal-Mart for groceries is downgrading, when many people who go there for all their items have no intention of going anywhere else, and would pay full price at Wal-Mart even if the same items were on sale for significantly less at the neighboring grocery store.

I don't go to Wal-Mart, though, so I don't quite know how low their prices are on a day to day basis, but if you're savvy, you can maximize your money so that you're getting much better savings than you would if you only shopped at one store.

@WiglyWorm: That would drive profits down, not revenue, since revenue is gross receipts.

@kpetree10: I think it's a matter of need...if the things you need are generally cheaper at Wal-Mart, that's where you'll go unless there are overriding principles or reasons why you wouldn't go. Wisdom comes with all income levels. I see it as simply having the wisdom to know how you want to spend your money, and where you should go to get the most value. If that's Wal-Mart, and you're okay with that, fine.

@downwithmonstercable: Well, their "marketing schemes" didn't fool you! You must be a genius.

@downwithmonstercable: I really don't understand this fascination with hating on Walmart because they don't provide health benefits to their employees. If the working environment is so unfair and unbearable, why do so many people willingly work there?

And I'm sorry, but isn't the whole point of marketing to convince consumers that your products or services are a better choice than the other guys? It's not like they're lying about their prices or anything, they're simply putting the onus on the consumers to comparison shop. How is that wrong?

@stevejust: It really depends on what you're buying. If Target has the exact same lotion, body wash, and shampoo that Walmart does, why wouldn't I opt to pay less for it? And if Walmart has the exact same model TV that Best Buy has, why wouldn't I opt to pay less for it? So I can say I got it at Best Buy?

Negative.

There's only one Wal-Mart near (i.e. less than a twenty minute drive) where I live. It's filthy and it smells like urine.

I always hear people say that Wal-Mart goods are "cheap" and "inferior" to those bought at the high-class establishments. How is a box of Tide bought at Wal-Mart any different than one bought at my local Jewel-Osco besides the fact that I have to swipe a lame "discount" card at the register to get the price within a dollar to the price I'd pay at Wal-Mart?

@AustinTXProgrammer: That's what I meant... yeah.

@Eldritch: My annoyance with Target clothes shopping is that the juniors section is not clearly marked from the women's section. The juniors section definitely has much smaller clothes - I might be able to fit into a large there if I'm lucky. In the women's section, I'm a solid medium. Since I don't know what section I'm in, I usually end up with 3 different sizes in everything I'm interested in trying on.

The picture for this article = Win!

@nakedscience: Target may have clothes that fit above size 10, but certainly not above size 16. And that's fine, I understand my demographic being relegated to Lane Bryant, but I get irritated when their "Plus Size" section is really just a small corner of the Maternity section.

I adore Target for other stuff, though. Just not clothes. :)

No Wal-Mart's in L.A., so no.

My fiance and I have this conversation every time grocery shopping comes around again. We go to Wal Mart when we're in a tight money crunch, but I think the few cents I'd save at W*M pales in comparison to the amount of sanity I lose in the store.

It's not the store itself, ours is nice and clean and well-stocked, it's just the other people there. I don't hate Wal*Mart, I hate Wal*Mart shoppers.

@HiPwr:

Do you really believe people are talking about Tide detergent and other well known brands? Generally we're referring to the furniture, hardware, tools, etc..

@pecan 3.14159265: Absolutely. There is only one Walmart within an hour of me and it's disgusting and not remotely competitive.

I've actually slowed down shopping at stores like these, even Target, because the only thing I buy from there is deodorant and lotion. There is so much overstimulation going on though that I always walk out with things I don't need just because they seemed cheap and were in my sight line. Yes, unfortunately I'm a rather easy target for marketing tricks. In the long run it helps if I only have a few options or send a friend to do my toiletry shopping.

@HiPwr: For the vast majority of things sold at Walmart, it's identical but cheaper. And the ironic thing is that you'll find a lot of the same Chinese made toys, tv's, dvd players and other crap at Target as you'll find at Walmart. That argument against Walmart is a straw man for people who just hate Walmart.

@Eldritch: honestly I like wal-mart more than target, yeah I said it! So what? jk. but seriously everytime I go into Target looking for something, its never there, so now I just skip target and go straight to the big blue monster.

The last time I stopped in a Wally World was the SuperWal*Mart in Hampton VA. What a dump. It sure had a lot of crap, but boy, did it have a lot of crap. Probably the main issue I take with these sorts of places is the saturation of junk, and the swarming shoppers. I personally never found it a very positive experience, unless I happened to go into one really early in the morning during a road trip.

@Guvmint_Cheese: I don't buy a lot of boxed items, but when I do and I'm counting pennies Target's Archstone Farms is actually a pretty nice product for a decent price. Their blueberry oatmeal has similar ingredients to a much higher priced oatmeal I buy at Whole Foods. Target also has Kashi brand for a fraction of what ANYONE else in my area has.

I go to Wal-Mart more than I used to but that's still only from once a year to once a quarter. I go in an off-hour when i'm certain i'll be the only one there and grab my health & beauty and home cleaning products and occasionally things from the ethnic food aisle that are hard to find elsewhere. At least twice i've walked in during a peak time, surveyed the madness, and left immediately without a purchase. The only times i've bought anything of any value (ie. microwave) I found them to be of such poor quality that I returned them within a week.
Target usually isn't that much more than the 'mart and the overall experience is SO much better. I'd rather sip a starbucks latte while strolling through Target than trip over a line of screaming brats overflowing from an inconveniently placed Wally World Mcdonald's anyday.