Walmart Is Raising Prices Online To Increase In-Store Traffic (theverge.com) 133
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Walmart is taking a bit of an nontraditional approach to boost sales ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events by raising prices for products sold online and discounting those same items in physical retail stores. According to The Wall Street Journal, the big-box store has quietly raised prices for household and food items such as toothbrushes, macaroni and cheese, and dog food on its website while the prices in stores remained the same. If there are price discrepancies between online and in-store purchases, Walmart will now highlight this on the product's web listing to encourage customers to buy them from their local stores. It's all part of an effort to increase foot traffic as Walmart continues to compete with Amazon just about everywhere else.
With the new pricing strategy, a twin-pack of Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper costs $3.30 on Walmart.com, but goes as low as $2.50 if purchased at a store in Illinois. The aim is to also help reduce processing costs and increase online sales margins, since driving customers to stores means less shipping costs for the retailer. Shipping one box of instant macaroni and cheese from Chicago to Atlanta could cost Walmart as much as $10, reports the WSJ.
With the new pricing strategy, a twin-pack of Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper costs $3.30 on Walmart.com, but goes as low as $2.50 if purchased at a store in Illinois. The aim is to also help reduce processing costs and increase online sales margins, since driving customers to stores means less shipping costs for the retailer. Shipping one box of instant macaroni and cheese from Chicago to Atlanta could cost Walmart as much as $10, reports the WSJ.
Clueless (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Clueless (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Clueless (Score:5, Insightful)
Drive through fast food and even liquor stores. Convenience stores where you can get a common grocery item quicker, but at an increased markup.
Sometimes it is the selection, occasionally it is the price, but ordering from the comfort of one's home is generally the ultimate in expedient convenience. Ordering household goods in your jammy pants with an adult beverage is almost worth missing the freak show at the block and mortar retailer.
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If you miss the freak show there won't be one, because you are the freak.
Or, you just live in a really shitty area.
I'm not certain why you believe those two things are mutually exclusive.
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This was an or condition. That is 'at least one of these is true,' not 'exactly one of these is true.'
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By freak show, I think mdingler meant this. [peopleofwalmart.com]
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This is Wal-Mart that was originally being discussed, remember. :D
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If Amazon Prime Pantry had a decent selection, that would have sold me on paying for Prime. It's a hell of a concept, but they're nowhere close to replacing our local grocery store, even for non-perishables.
Drive to the store, or have a box appear on the doorstep? There's measurable value in the doorstep option, both time and money.
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missing the freak show at the block and mortar retailer
So I was visiting the USA on a work trip and asked my colleagues what I should do while I'm here. The answer (facetiously) was to "Go down to the local Walmart and witness American culture."
I told them I've already seen the "people of Walmart" website so they instead invited me out to a jazz bar :-)
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Drive through fast food and even liquor stores. Convenience stores where you can get a common grocery item quicker, but at an increased markup.
OK.... Admittedly I usually eat in when travelling through America but are drive through's really more expensive than going inside? In Australia and the UK, Micky D's is usually the same price? In fact with a restaurant, take away is usually cheaper than eat in.
Convenience stores, yep you've got a point but supermarkets run on stupidly thin margins that a local corner shop cant compete with. Usually when I'm accepting that I'm paying a premium for something its because I want it now and not even same day
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I dunno who said that.
In the US, for fast food, the drive through is the exact same price as going in.
I generally tend to go in, so I can more easily review my order and make sure they don't leave shit out of the bag.
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Amazon:
Kellogg's Corn Flakes, 18 Oz
$2.79, Prime Shipping
Walmart online:
Kellogg's Corn Flakes, 18 ounce box
$3.83, Free Shipping.
I'd buy from Amazon.
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https://brickseek.com/walmart-... [brickseek.com]
What WM really needs to do is get in bed with the post office like Amazon has. Every night at midnight, WM dispatches one truck to the local USPS DDU with the orders for the zip codes that DDU services. "Next Delivery for all your essentials!". Use each store as a local warehouse. Target does that already
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The fuel I'd use getting there to do the curbside pickup is more expensive then the penny I'd be saving. And I wouldn't have to deal with traffic, the Walmart parking lot, etc. And the time I don't spend driving there is better utilized doing other things, unless I just really fucking need corn flakes right fucking now.
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So I'm going to spend 20 minutes getting dressed, locating my keys, driving to the store, waiting for them to bring it out, driving back home plus 10 miles of gasoline. Take the risk of getting a ticket, getting into an accident, getting my car dinged in the parking lot.
For 10 cents?
Walmart better hope there isn't a cheaper option on amazon.
It does suck for brick and mortar and it is destroying local economies. But it's one of the few ways middle income people actually get the benefits of increased produ
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Let's see, 10,000 lazy fuckers can all drive to the store or 20 people can deliver the cornflakes with a lot less pollution, congestion, and at a low cost.
The context is walmart increasing prices to force me into their stores so I will buy more stuff while there. My comment is, if the item is cheaper on Amazon than Walmart's online price, then I'll order it online from Amazon.
I don't know about you but many of my chores are done from home- cheaper- than I used to do. I converted when I spent 3 hours, visi
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You say that but dont go through the effort to show us even an example or two.
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The general consensus around where I live is that people must go to Amazon for the selection instead of the price, because Amazon is usually more expensive. Most people around here go to brick and mortars for this reason. Once they can't find it at a brick and mortar, then they'll try something like Amazon.
Amazon is convenient, especially when coupled with fast, free Prime shipping. I'll often pay a small amount more for something marked "Amazon Prime" because I know I'll receive it within a day or two. I know it's not going to end up UPS ground from somewhere across the country that gets here a week later. It's also comfortable because I know they have a good, hassle free return policy. Key being a small amount, it doesn't take long for me to verify that I'm not over-paying for something by a signi
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Yes, Two-Day Shipping is fast, but when it takes several days for the seller to ship the damn thing, that don't mean much!
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The stuff I (used to) buy from walmart.com is the grocery stuff I wouldn't expect to buy from Amazon.
I did notice two weeks ago that Wally has increased online prices compared to in-store, and figured that shipping cost was the reason.
Exactly. (Score:2)
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Retail business owners are mostly clueless (Score:1)
> ... Let's say Jimmy is shopping on Walmart's website. He's shopping there because he doesn't want to go to a brink-n-mortar. He sees the price difference and thinks to himself "Dang! It's almost $1.00 cheaper in the store. I wonder what Amazon's price would be? Wow. Amazon is .50 cents cheaper online, and plus I won't have to go to the store. I'll just order from Amazon" Walmart is absolutely clueless ...
Look at Sears Roebuck, J.C. Penny, Macy's, Sak's 5th Avenue
Look at KMart, Target, Walmart
Look at To
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Sounds like you are reaching that point where there is no point in you ever leaving the basement, as more and more normal everyday activities that involve interacting with others in person are getting their own online counterparts.
Would the Basement Singularity be a suitable term for that badass achievement?
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Not ask me if I need help 20 times, don't lie to me if I do ask for help.
Don't ever insult me with a mail-in-rebate.
Work to compete with amazon online and not do stuff like raise your online prices to get me to go to the store because you have nostalgia for the days when a blue smock meant something.
Wal-mart is clueless, Sears practically invented what amazon got rich doing. Both companies are full of old stuffy losers who will never get it. Read employee reviews of walmart labs. Hilarious. They expect
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You're missing out on a lot of savings ignoring good mail in rebates. I just did 3 for Bushnell, ended up with free Binoculars, half off another pair and big savings off of another item. I think what you really mean is those crappy best buy and circuit city ones from back in the day that you never got fulfilled. Nowadays a lot of the mail in rebates have online components for tracking and verifying and it's easy to take pictures or make copies of receipts.
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tbh you're right. I got ripped off by a newegg vendor and had flashbacks of best buy. I want blood.
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Coincidentally, I just priced Mobil 1 ATF at WalMart and AutoZone... a few years ago I would have expected WalMart to beat AutoZone by 20%, but today the reverse is the case: AutoZone 9.99, WalMart 12.99 for the same product.
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Letâ(TM)s say Jimmy is shopping on Walmartâ(TM)s website. Heâ(TM)s shopping there because he doesnâ(TM)t want to go to a brink-n-mortar. He sees the price difference and thinks to himself âoeDang! Itâ(TM)s almost $1.00 cheaper in the store. I wonder what Amazonâ(TM)s price would be? Wow. Amazon is .50 cents cheaper online, and plus I wonâ(TM)t have to go to the store. Iâ(TM)ll just order from Amazon.â
Is Jimmy really comparison shopping on a $4 box of macaroni, or is he only shopping around for expensive things?
Walmart is absolutely clueless.
Walmart may be a lot of things, but "clueless" is not one of them -- they probably have the best understanding of their customers than any other retailer -- they've been amassing customer information and analyzing way longer than almost any other customer - they were processing Big Data before Big Data was a buzzword.
No, double clueless (Score:2)
Target has much better BI than wal-mart, it's their entire niche business strategy.
Wal-mart is clueless they've stopped innovating and have increased profits by fucking everyone as hard as they can, customers, suppliers, and of course workers. Then they pat themselves on the back.
You wanna see clueless, go do a glassdoor on walmart labs.
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I forgot the way they brainwash their employees too. It seems you may have consumed some of the kool-aid.
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Target has much better BI than wal-mart, it's their entire niche business strategy.
You should look into the fiasco that was their expansion into Canada. Hint: They were here for maybe a year and pulled out because they had no clue.
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Well that doesn't mean they don't have much better BI than walmart. Their whole strategy is to be just a little bit ahead of wal-mart and they're doing ok. Failure to successfully replicate a business model in a new location is very common.
The only thing wal-mart knows about it's customers is they're desperate white trash and they serve them well.
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" they're desperate white trash and they serve them well." Right there, that shows you have no clue about Walmart, where they've expanded and that they made smaller market stores and are now making upscale stores. http://www.businessinsider.com... [businessinsider.com]
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White trash likes to buy gucci, they're still trash.
https://www.glassdoor.com/Revi... [glassdoor.com]
Anyhow walmart will fail to become amazon.
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I'll gladly pay extra to not step foot into a Walmart. Of course, I don't shop their web site either, so I guess it makes no difference.
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Or as I was immediately thinking when I saw the article title, regarding whoever's idea this was...
"You're a special kind of stupid, aren't you?"
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LetÃ(TM)s say Jimmy is shopping on WalmartÃ(TM)s website. HeÃ(TM)s shopping there because he doesnÃ(TM)t want to go to a brink-n-mortar. He sees the price difference and thinks to himself ÃoeDang! ItÃ(TM)s almost $1.00 cheaper in the store. I wonder what AmazonÃ(TM)s price would be? Wow. Amazon is .50 cents cheaper online, and plus I wonÃ(TM)t have to go to the store. IÃ(TM)ll just order from Amazon.Ã Walmart is absolutely clueless.
Dear Slashdot, I *literally* couldn't stand to read this. Please fix kthxbye.
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Slashdot: ignoring the HTML 2.0 standard and it's incorporation of unicode since the late 90s.
The problem isn't Apple, the problem is Slashdot hasn't bothered to support Unicode in the literally 20 years it's been part of the HTML standard.
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Slashdot: ignoring the HTML 2.0 standard and it's incorporation of unicode since the late 90s.
The problem isn't Apple, the problem is Slashdot hasn't bothered to support Unicode in the literally 20 years it's been part of the HTML standard.
You realise it's only the Apple devices that result in illegible postings?
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About as much courage as it takes to leave your web site not handling character encoding that has been part of every web server and spec for the last two decades, bunky.
Seems reasonable to me (Score:2)
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I agree, but even Amazon has 5-10 buck shipping on items without Prime and without hitting the free-shipping threshold for cost.
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They usually have a $35 for free shipping at Walmart.com or free in-store pickup. I'm sure they have crazy shipping charges to encourage people to buy more things.
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How could you even suggest such a thing!
http://omgwhut.com/the-amazing-people-of-walmart/25/
How about using real shipping costs? (Score:1)
From the summary:
"Shipping one box of instant macaroni and cheese from Chicago to Atlanta could cost Walmart as much as $10, reports the WSJ."
I know that nowadays billing proper shipping costs to the consumer is such a radical idea, but maybe they should try THAT instead of rising products prices. Would make a whole lot more sense.
Re:How about using real shipping costs? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm wondering why the Wall Street Journal thinks that walmart would need to ship individual boxes of mac and cheese over 700 miles through the heart of the midwest, and why that particular statistic is of any relevance to anything at all.
What, has there been a run on mac and cheese in Chicago, and the 500+ stores and god knows how many distribution centers are all tapped out? Or does Atlanta boxed mac and cheese taste better than Chicago boxed mac and cheese? And god damn it, I need my shitty boxed mac and cheese RIGHT FUCKING NOW, so you'd better same-day that shit.
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Coincidentally, these price hikes for online items coincide with WalMart initiating a "free shipping on everything online" program. So, almost like they just bake in the shipping costs instead of having a sneaky method of trying to get people in the store.
But of course, they aren't going to ship from Chicago to Atlanta. A huge part of WalMart's success is their ability to cheaply (logistically) move stuff around the country.
Make sure you list both prices online then... (Score:2)
Make sure you list both prices online then, with a clear explanation - Otherwise, I'll just think that Walmart just sucks in terms of prices, compared to other stores in that timeframe.
I already shop at Aldi for most food items, and use Slickdeals and other comparisson shopping places for most non-perishables. Walmart has long since lost its image as a 'low prices' store - and now sits in my mind as the same as the old department stores as a place I only go for specials and items I can't find elsewhere.
I d
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Target is/was that way with different prices online and no price matching. Fucking crazy.
not the store (Score:2)
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Just look for yourself [peopleofwalmart.com].
Would you feel safe standing in the same line as these freaks?
Why do they feel confident of that end result? (Score:5, Insightful)
And the thing that stops a person from just going to another website with a likely-lower price is...?
I even RTFA (okay, skimmed) to see if there was an answer to this question. I honestly don't know why someone would feel compelled to actually drive to a store (Wal-mart or otherwise) to purchase an item that they already intended to purchase online, especially since it's likely there are other retailers who will have lower prices after Wal-mart increases theirs. (The referenced WSJ article is paywalled so I can't look there for answers, either.)
And from TFA:
...so charge $10 to ship it? I realize things like Amazon Prime have made a lot of people expect cheap or free shipping, but that's an aberration, not a requirement, of online shopping.
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that's an aberration, not a requirement, of online shopping.
Tell that to the people who have been trained by Prime to expect free shipping. One of the largest challengers brick and mortar retailers face in the e-commerce space is overcoming that expectation. Up to this point retailers have done this by cutting into their own profit margins trying to out-Amazon Amazon. It's interesting to see Walmart trying the alternative approach of slightly raising prices in exchange for the convenience of home shopping.
The only reason Amazon is able to do it in the first place
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They're new ad program is free shipping of everything, all the time, no membership program (like Prime) required.
I've done a lot of price comparisons online, and on some things WalMart was the clear winner.
I don't buy $1.49 items online (Score:3)
Re:I don't buy $1.49 items online (Score:4, Interesting)
I do. (Score:2)
Before I go walking from store to store to find exactly what I'm looking for sometimes it's just easier to click the buy button when you're already mid-research. My smallest online transaction has been $0.60 and it somehow included shipping. My smallest item purchased was a single physical screw, because stuff buying a 10 pack and having 9 laying around.
Makes sense, actually. (Score:3)
Delivery isn't free. If it's "free", then you're being overcharged if you go and buy it in person.
Yes, retail infrastructure costs money to maintain, but so does shipping/warehousing/IT infrastructure.
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Amazon's claim-to-fame is next-to-nothing shipping.
Walmart recently bought Jet and Zoro, and though the Walton heirs will still be purchasing the name-brand milk this week, Jeff Bezos just became world's richest man. [cnn.com]
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they also appear to even it out over all the volume they do - I got "free" shipping on a water heater that was maybe $20 more expensive than the same model from local retailers, where either I had to get the thing (rent a truck / van) or they would deliver for $75 - that practically paid for the Prime membership for the year just on that one purchase.
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If delivery made so little economic sense, why is Amazon buying brick-and-mortar stores like Whole Foods?
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Didn't you kind of answer your own question? Delivery makes little economic sense, so Amazon bought a brick and mortar stores. The above poster kind of talked about overhead with warehouses, but Walmart has those too.
If only .... (Score:2)
... there were another online store where I could get my shopping done.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Their website also pushed 3rd party vendors. (Score:2)
A friend ran into that the other day and bought an item she thought was from Walmart, but was actually from a 3rd party vendor. I am unsure if it showed up at her door or was picked up in-store, but she didn't find out until she tried to return it instore that it was 3rd party, and then was told she had to email the 3rd party about any return issues rather than Walmart.
Having looked on Walmart.com in the past and run across items like that, which on first glance appear to be from Walmart, until you skim pre
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Lowe's online site is a great example. Not only can I tell if an item is available at my local store, they actually give me a map of the local store and tell me exactly where to find what I'm looking for. And every time I go to the site it knows which local store I live near.
It's the same story with Home Depot. The local one is just a mile from home. I recently learned that they also carry products that are not stocked in the stores, but can be ordered online and delivered to my local store with *no* shipping charges. Their very competitive prices, combined with no shipping costs, make them cheaper than any other source for some items.
Round One - FIGHT (Score:5, Funny)
Every year we hear the story of the Black Friday Brawl. Every year, it's in the same GD place.
Walmart.
"Free can of Pepper Spray for the first 150 shoppers ! "
I think I'll pass on the in store only sales and just shop somewhere else.
Maybe it would cost the WSJ that. (Score:3)
Shipping one box of instant macaroni and cheese from Chicago to Atlanta could cost Walmart as much as $10, reports the WSJ.
From what I've read, Walmart has one of the most efficient shipping infrastructures, so I don't think they'd be that dumb. They would probably ship from someplace local/closer to Atlanta and, therefore, much less expensively.
walmart was shot up twice (Score:1)
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Hmmm...well, you'd better not stay in your house then either, because plenty of people get shot in their homes, too. Probably a lot more than get shot in a Walmart.
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Cousin Eddie: I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? I like it better than tuna helper myself, don't you, Clark?
Clark: You're the gourmet around here, Eddie.
You have just entered The Walmart Zone.
For the first time in my life, I went into a Walmart last January. Everything that I had ever heard about it... was true. Never again.
However, I don't order online either. I like to buy Clothes that fit, (30" Waist, 34" Inseam.), and when I buy Electronics or Camer
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Well, the beef would come from you, it's just the helper. Also the Cheesy Beef Pasta does have Ricotta Cheese, Blue Cheese and Cheddar Cheese, dried as an ingredient along with other cheese enzymes. So for the $2.50 you get the Pasta, the cheese, and the spices. No mixing, it's easy to do, etc.
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WallyWorld Is Painful (Score:3)
I left the items on the deactivated conveyor belt and left. Sadly, experiences like this have happened multiple times at various locations
i will absolutely positively pay more to avoid Walmart.
Not that long ago it was cheaper online (Score:1)
Not that long ago it was cheaper online than in the store. I have four Walmarts near me. Unfortunately, they do not stock the same items. I went online several times to see which store had the item I wanted. When I got to the store, it was more expensive for me to pull it from the shelf and buy it. The last time it happened I stood there in front of the item, got out my phone and bought it from Amazon. They pissed me off enough I could wait the two days for the package to arrive.
From a Walmart perspective it makes sense (Score:3)
Think of all the free publicity Walmart gets when a dozen dime-store duchesses in animal skin prints roll around in the Toy Department throwing punches over the last Tickle Me Roy Boy doll at the Alabama superstore. You simply cannot buy that kind of social media presence!
And how better to remind "Sales Associates" who's boss than to rip them away from their families on Thanksgiving? They should be thankful for their minimum-wage jobs and quit whining about that family values nonsense.
Work with me here, people. Get those assless chaps out of the closet, wiggle into that skin-tight XXXXXL spandex shirt that says "My Warm-up Is Your Workout", and head down to Wally World for a Black Friday - Cyber Monday Shop-a-thon!
Only one week left! It's almost time for really serious bargain hounds to grab the sleeping bags and get in line.
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XXXXXL and ass-less chaps.
The horror! The horror!
I live near Boston (Score:2)
and anything that either keeps me from spending an entire afternoon on public transport or taking my life in my hands trying to drive to the store is worth a pretty substantial price premium. The fact that online pricing is usually cheaper is just a bonus.
The exception is groceries and things like clothing where I might want to check things like fit or color or "feel" before buying. Or things I absolutely need now, like tools or parts or supplies to finish some kind of project that's blocking up my garage
Surely not everything is Walmart? (Score:3)
And so... what's keeping me from ordering from a different online service? It sounds like Walmart thinks their only competition is themselves. Let's disabuse them of that.
hidden costs (Score:2)
sure, it might cost them $10, but what about the extra cost for us, the customer, for going to a store?
fuel isn't really cheap these days, and my time is limited and thus expensive as well.
they will have to increase their prices way more to make it worth while to go to the store and by that point, you will surely find cheaper alternative online shops.
LOL! (Score:1)
Idiots (Score:1)
If Walmart doesn't want people using their online site, why do they have one?