Back in Oct. 2010, Walmart vowed to double the amount of locally grown produce it sells at its stores by 2015. But judging by these bags of “Locally Grown” apples, the retail behemoth appears to be embracing a very global view of the term “local.” [More]
Walmart Has An Incredibly Generous View Of What "Locally Grown" Means
By September 6, 2012
Walmart Testing App That Allows Customers To Scan As They Shop Then Pay Quickly At Self Checkout
By September 4, 2012
What’s the worst part about shopping? Well, besides not finding what you want on the shelf or having to pay more than you want to, many people would answer that long lines at the checkout are the bane of any retail experience. Walmart is trying to carve into those wait times with a new iPhone app it’s testing that would allow customers to scan their items in the aisles as they shop, and then simply pay at a self-checkout counter when they’re done. [More]
Target Overthrows Walmart For The Title Of The Cheapest In The Land This Month
By August 23, 2012
We’ve been following the price tug-of-war between Target and Walmart as the two retail giants battle for the right to claim they’re the cheapest in the land. It seemed Target had the edge on Walmart last year, and now new research suggests you really will “pay less” at Target. [More]
A Look Back At Customer-On-Greeter Violence At Walmart
By August 20, 2012
For most of us who shop at Walmart, the elderly greeters are merely something to smile at and say “hi” to as we enter the store — and to occasionally hand over your receipt for checking-over as you exit. But as any regular readers of Consumerist know, some folks out there seem to have a grudge against greeters and have opted for fisticuffs over anger management. [More]
Holiday Layaway Starting A Month Earlier This Year At Walmart, With A Few Changes
By August 20, 2012
Walmart customers who rely on its layaway program to get all that holiday shopping done will surely be grateful for a little extra time this year to buy gifts and pay them off in time. The store announced that layaway will return a month earlier than it did last year, and tweaked a few of the program’s rules in the process. [More]
Straight Talk Plays Three-Card Monte With Customer's Phone Number
By August 17, 2012
You might need to get a pen and paper out to help diagram the byzantine shell game that the folks at Straight Talk (the Tracfone prepaid phone service sold through Walmart) have been playing with Consumerist reader John’s phone number. [More]
Walmart Still Ignoring Customer Whose Engine Was Ruined In Botched Oil Change
By August 17, 2012
It’s been three weeks since a California woman took her car into Walmart for an oil change, only to have a service tech accidentally put all the new oil in her transmission instead of her engine. And in spite of early indications that Walmart would move quickly to repair the customer’s vehicle, she tells Consumerist that the retailer is doing nothing while her car sits idle in a garage. [More]
Walmart, Target, 7-Eleven & Other Retailers Form New Mobile Payment System Alliance
By August 15, 2012
These days, if you can’t use your phone to do something, it’s almost like, why do it at all? You should at least be able to buy a microwaveable burrito, if not a flat screen TV, with a magic wave of your smartphone. Big retailers like 7-Eleven, Walmart and Target are teaming up to create a new mobile payment network so you can buy almost anything your heart desires. [More]
Police: Walmart Worker Followed Suspected Shoplifter Out, Hit Him With Car
By August 10, 2012
A month ago in Houston, a high school student briefly considered committing a crime. He grabbed some DVDs and headed for the door. He says that he changed his mind near the door and left almost-ill-gotten goods behind in the store. That didn’t stop a store employee from following him out of the store as he walked home, then intentionally hitting him with his car. The teen suffered back injuries, and the driver is longer employed at Walmart. He’s also in jail with a $30,000 bond, charged with aggravated assault. [More]
Walmart Oil Change Turns Into $3,000 Disaster And I Can't Even Get Store To Call Me Back
By August 7, 2012
An oil change seems like a pretty simple procedure, at least as far as automotive maintenance is concerned. And yet, one Consumerist reader now faces nearly $3,000 in repairs to her SUV because someone at Walmart mucked up the all-important “refilling” part of the oil change. [More]
Walmart And Monsanto Team Up To Sell Genetically Modified Sweet Corn
By August 3, 2012
Retail behemoth Walmart says it will soon be selling a new variety of genetically modified sweet corn developed by seed megacorp/frequent litigator Monsanto. This is the same corn that other big names like Whole Foods and General Mills have already said thanks but no thanks to. [More]
Christmas Creep In July Emerges At Warehouse Clubs
By August 3, 2012
Sure, it’s not glittery Christmas trees or holly-laden wreaths, but two readers shopping in warehouse clubs were still surprised to see the earliest signs of Christmas creep. At Sam’s Club and a Costco in greater Washington, D.C., the festive holiday ribbons have started to appear. [More]
Your Fellow Walmart Shoppers Would Appreciate It If You Took The Lube Home Before Using It
By August 1, 2012
Most shoplifters we’ve read about just can’t wait to get away from the scene of the crime — often leaving valuables like children behind in their haste — but this couple accused of thieving from a Walmart were so excited about boosting some sexual lubricant, they decided to try it out right in the store. [More]
All Of This Walmart’s Enfamil Baby Formula Is Expired
By July 31, 2012
Vinny went to a Walmart somewhere in New England to pick up some baby formula. After the purchase, he noticed that the cans he had were expired. No big deal: he brought them back to the store for the easiest exchange he’s ever experienced at a Walmart. Not an exchange, though. That’s what he would have preferred, but he tells Consumerist that every container of formula on the shelf was expired. [More]
This Walmart Offers Really, Really Fresh Meat
By July 30, 2012
When a Florida woman shopping at her local Super Walmart saw a large rat in the meat case, stampering across the shrink-wrapped packages, she knew that no one was going to believe her. She insisted on snapping a photo with her mobile phone. “[I] told my mom I wasn’t leaving without one,” she told a local news station. [More]
At This Walmart, Three And A Half Pretty Much Equals Five
By July 26, 2012
I thought the idea behind having all of these computers around was that they were supposed to do the math for us. Correctly. A Reddit user snapped this picture of some fuzzy math at the self-checkout. Either the computer thinks that someone buying a pile of Lunchables and gum isn’t very quick on the uptake, or something is very wrong here. [More]
Walmart Sued Over Some Payment Machines Being Too High For Disabled Customers
By July 26, 2012
Walmart is being sued by disability rights advocates who say the mega-chain has placed its payment machines too high in some stores, making them inaccessible to customers using wheelchairs and scooters. Some customers say they then have to tell cashiers their PINs to complete transactions. [More]
This Is Why Graphic Designers Should Pay More Attention To Kerning
By July 25, 2012
When a packaging designer is putting together a layout on their computer screen, one important thing they need to keep in mind is kerning, the space between individual characters in a word. They should also be thinking about how the printing process is imperfect. If not, they can end up with some very confusing, potentially rude results. [More]
