Walmart Analysis (Essay Sample)

Walmart
Name
Institution
Date
Walmart
Started in the 1950s and incorporated in the early 60s, Walmart has become one of the largest retailers in the world. Millions of people not only in the United States but also in other parts of the world shop at Walmart. Since opening the first store, its founder, Sam Walton, recognized that treating a customer like a boss is a very important way to spur business growth. As such, Walton offered reduced prices to increase the sales and thus earn high profits than selling a few items at higher prices. This paper analyzes the strategies that the Walmart brand used and uses to become popular and persuade customers to buy more.
Walmart’s Popularity
Among the millions of customers, Walmart features as the best for several reasons. These include discounted prices, the availability of a broad range of products, and personalized customer service. Walmart stores are also located close to many customers.
Prices
Number one on top of the factors that make Walmart popular is the price. Walmart offers incredible prices for almost all the products. Walton’s idea of low prices to increase sales is still implemented up to date. For goods whose prices cannot go below a certain level, Walmart store matches the prices with other stores and gives customers competitor coupons which offer customers the best prices as compared to competitors. Low prices enable customers to save more and thus buy more.[William A. McEachern, Macroeconomics: A Contemporary Introduction (Cengage Learning, 2011), 72.]
Selection
Walmart stocks a broad range of products that offer a wide variety to the customers. Customers can compare sizes, colors, and/or flavor. As such, it provides satisfaction for customers who have varied preferences and tastes. Stocks and inventories are also updated throughout to check for the availability of products and their varieties on shelves. For this reason, customers are assured of the availability of the product of their choice at any time. Also, the wide variety of goods do not come at the expense of quality and price.[Don Soderquist, The Wal-Mart Way: The Inside Story of the Success of the World’s Largest Company (Thomas Nelson Inc, 2005), 137.]
Quality and Fresh
Customers also cite the high quality of the products especially groceries that the Walmart sells. The freshness of the groceries serves as an important factor in maintaining the loyalty of the customers who in turn spread the good quality by word of mouth to other customers and thus increase the customer base. This increases sales while at the same ensuring customers remain loyal.[Rebekah Peeples Massengill, Wal-Mart Wars: Moral Populism in the Twenty-First Century (NYU Press, 2013), 121.]
Location
In his strategy to sell to a large number of customers at lower prices, Walton opened stores in places that were near and easily accessible by many shoppers. Recent studies indicate that at least 90% of all Americans reside within fifteen miles of a Walmart store. This offers a lot of conveniences and saves time for shoppers.[Patrick Dunne, Robert Lusch, and James Carver, Retailing (Cengage Learning, 2013), 59.]
Maintaining Customer Loyalty and Increasing Purchases
Customer is the Boss
In addition to the great prices, wide selection, and the convenient location, the retail chain offers exclusive services that make customers purchase more and remain loyal. All Walmart stores operate on the basis that the "customer is the boss”. Store attendants (associates) ensure that the customer experience at Walmart store is friendly and pleasant. All the employees work on the premise that they are actually employed by the customer and as such, they have to make sure the customer is satisfied. Customer expectations are also exceeded to ensure customers purchase more and come back next time.[Michael Bergdahl, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results (John Wiley & Sons, 2010).]
Service to Our Customers
Walmart another principle of operation is "service to the customers". Walmart continues to attract new customers and maintain the loyalty of the existing ones. When a customer approaches the entrance of a Walmart store, he or she is greeted warmly by an associate and offered help that he or she may require. This strateg...