Would you or wouldn't you? The Anti-WalMart movement

[Tuckervill]

a bias to giving a 10% discount...why don't the stores simply lower their prices 10%? Frankly, because they don't have the margin...so they're cutting off their nose to spite their face

That was my first thought.

I'm pretty sure our local merchants don't have that 10% to give across the board. I'm sure most see it as the same thing as a coupon. Not everyone is going to participate, so it's not 10% on everything they offer. I'm sure the currency doesn't apply to some high-dollar items, either (restrictions apply).

I wouldn't participate, because of the hassle factor. I don't get Wal-Mart gift cards for cheaper gas for the same reason. I'd rather just assume my time is worth more than the 3 cents a gallon I would get by buying a gift card when I'm in the store. It's inconvenient, and I would be ticked off to be inconvenienced to go in the store, stand in line, make the transaction, just to save the 30 cents on 10 gallons. (Although I think you can recharge the cards at the pump, now.)

I live in the town where Sam Walton almost landed, instead of Bentonville. It has one of the oldest Wal-Marts in the store's history (20,000 people). We have a thriving local merchant scene. They simply don't carry what Wal-Mart does, or if they do, they have more variety and are more specialized. We have two grocery stores, more than a few tire shops, an office supply, several drug stores, shoe stores, etc., all locally owned. I would say our town is part of the post-Wal-Mart era.

I never hear anyone complaining about Wal-Mart putting local merchants out of business. It didn't happen when WM first came to town, either, because WM started as a Main Street business in those days, too. The truth is, if you can't compete in your business, the market will force you out. Whether that's a big-box coming in or just better competitors in your demographic. The businesses that are still here 30 years after the first Wal-Mart, and the second and now the third or fourth (it's a super size, now), are just better at what they do. That's the way I look at it.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

And sadly for some folks, saving a few bucks outweighs any political feelings they might have.

Oh, I think it's way more complicated than that.

Karen

[Flur]

I have to agree that local money would be more of a hassle for me than an incentive. I always make an effort to shop local, especially for food, but also for other things. However, as I mentioned in another thread, Target and Best Buy, two huge box stores, are "local" for me, given that they are headquartered here and provide a really large number of jobs to the Twin Cities. I can honestly say that I only know a few people that live here that haven't worked for one or the other at some point in time. Also local for us - Caribou Coffee, Dunn Brothers, 3M, General Mills and Aveda.

I make an effort to buy local foods, and to eat at locally-owned restaurants that use locally grown produce and locally raised meats and dairy. There are some things I still consistently mail order when the price difference is huge, like camera lenses, or I can't find it locally, like Hawaiian coffee, but if I can get it here for a fair price I do. Shopping local is better for the environment too.

I've never been in a Walmart. I'm not even sure I've ever even seen a Walmart in person...

[Irulan]

Oh, I think it's way more complicated than that.

Karen

Not if you are really poor.

[Tuckervill]

I apparently misread your comment, Irulan. I thought you were saying that people who shop at Wal-Mart in spite of their political leanings are just doing it to save a buck--are selling out their political beliefs. I got this idea from the first sentence in that paragraph.

Now that you've clarified you were talking about people who have no other choice than to save where they can, then I totally agree.

Karen