Marketing at Walmart - Essay Example

Marketing at Walmart I recently visited a Walmart store in my hometown. It was located in a business park. It was clear from the beginning that themain customers who shopped there were families. There were many parents with children. Most of them appeared to be middle class in their style of dress. They appeared to be in the 25-45 year-old demographic. Looking through the aisles at the products that Walmart sells, a number of things stood out. To begin with, it was evident that you can buy almost anything at this store.

It sold a large range of products at very low prices. Many of the items were brand names and appeared to be of quality. Nevertheless, the prices were exceptionally low. They also offered a guarantee to match any competitor's prices. This seemed like a successful way to bring shoppers into the store. The store was full of customers even though it was late in the evening. I should stress that prices were exceptionally low. Even at a large hardware or grocery store the prices would probably have been about 20 per cent higher.

The store was laid out in an intuitive manner. Similar items were grouped together. Electronics were in one clearly marked area. Food was in a separate corner of the store, as were the gardening supplies. Large signs directed customers to the appropriate sections of the store where they could find the items they required. No one appeared to be lost or confused. It took a few minutes to orient oneself in a store that enormous but it was relatively simple to find items. There were multiple displays which drew the customer's eye to the excellent deal available.

Clearly the manager had chosen attractive, useful products to discount and had set them aside to advertise to customers. The sales items were obvious and fit in well with the idea of the store as a general retailer where anything was available. These sales made sense. Most of the sales approach was laid-back. The sales associates did not try to push anything on the customers. They simply walked around, organizing items. No effort was made to make a hard sell to a customer. However, they were very happy to answer any question that was asked of them regarding sales items or where things were located in the store.

They seemed pleasant and well-trained. They were not especially necessary as a lot of sales information was readily available. Prices were clearly displayed. Upon entering the store there were a number of fliers available which listen all of the sales specials. Often sales prices on displays were advertised in numbers about one-foot high. These were visible from a great distance and attracted the eye. It appeared that all items in the store were refundable and were guaranteed. Overall, Walmart's marketing seemed very effective.

There were a large amount of customers who seemed very happy with the prices on offer. Sales staff seemed pleasant and happy to be working there. The store was family friendly which was key for the demographic the company was trying to attract. I would be happy to go back to this store in large part because there prices were so good. Work consulted Fishman, Charles. (2006). The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works--and How It's Transforming the American Economy.

New York: Penguin Press. Lichtenstein, Nelson. (2009). The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business. New York: Metropolitan Books.