Posted on 07/24/2020 8:24:48 AM PDT by Kaslin
Walmart receives a lot of hate, but when it's not around, you realize how much you miss its low prices, well-stocked shelves, and wide selection of goods.
I’ve been living abroad since 2012. People sometimes ask me what I miss most about America. The answer to that is easy: Walmart.
I’m not kidding. Walmart blows my mind. It’s a monument to human ingenuity. The prices are unbelievably low, the selection is incredible, and each time I visit a Walmart, I am rendered speechless as I wander from gleaming aisle to gleaming aisle.
Currently, I live in Brazil. I’ve also lived in Africa and Europe, and it’s not an exaggeration to say I’ve never seen any store that even comes remotely close to Walmart. I recently needed to travel to America for a family emergency. You can be sure that when I fly back to Brazil, I will be lugging a giant suitcase full of stuff I bought at Walmart.
Walmart always has exactly what I need. For example, I just purchased a pair of plain blue flip flops for my little son for 98 cents. Back in Brazil, we have the iconic flip-flop brand Havaianas. But those are exponentially more expensive and they’re usually branded with some movie or TV show. As my kids are already being “sold to” at every turn, I decided it’s best to leave their flip flops out of it.
Moreover, the point of flip flops for little boys is to be destroyed. So if I can get them cheap and simple, that’s just what the doctor ordered. And less than the price of a candy bar? Wild.
Walmart provides everything I need to buy in one convenient location, which saves me so much time. In other countries, I usually have to go to several different shops to get everything I need. I have three young children. Dragging them through endless small shops all day is not something I’d like to do except as a last resort. I sometimes hire a babysitter just so I can get my shopping done. But, if I lived near a Walmart that wouldn’t be necessary.
Another reason I am dazzled by Walmart is that the products are almost always in stock. How do they manage it? On this past Fourth of July, my family realized we didn’t have everything we needed for our cookout. So we ran over to Walmart and all the staples were there even though we were purchasing everything at the last minute.
Burgers, hotdogs, buns, ingredients for S’mores were all in stock with items to spare. I can’t overstate how exceptional that is. In other countries where I’ve lived, those shelves would be empty.
Walmart gets a lot of hate in popular culture. People complain that their low prices cater to the worst instincts Americans have for overconsumption. No doubt many Americans do own too much stuff. Shows like “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” certainly give that impression. Americans are now needing to pay consultants to help manage the excess stuff they have bought. As problems go, though, that’s a great one to have.
I’ve noticed that commentators who criticize American overconsumption tend to fetishize people in foreign countries who own less stuff. To be honest, that is a ridiculous way of thinking. To begin, it is colonialist because it imposes unrealistic, romanticized stereotypes onto foreigners. These are normal people just like you and me. They are not any better or more virtuous than Americans.
Second, having lived in poorer, still-developing countries, I believe the people there make do with less because they have to, not by choice. If they could, I expect they would likely embrace close to the same levels of American consumption. One of the main factors holding them back is their inefficient or corrupt local governments. Walmart tried to enter to Brazilian market but pulled out in 2018 — largely on account of all of the bureaucracy and excessive red tape.
Moreover, in my experience, the goods typically sold to the poor in these countries are usually very low-quality and unsafe. Even “average” quality items can be obscenely expensive. For example, when I moved to Brazil, I bought a cheap blow dryer to save money. It promptly ripped out a big chunk of my hair.
I was in tears, so my husband got me a new, fancy one that cost five times as much. It works fine, but it’s not any better than the $10 blow dryer I bought at Walmart and used when I lived in America. To be sure, poor people in foreign countries would be better off if they could shop at Walmart.
Some may also object that Walmart hurts the poor because it sources many of its products from low-cost countries like China. There may be some truth to that. Yet it is important to note that stores all over the world rely on many of the same supply chains as Walmart — the main difference is that Walmart manages them far better and with vastly greater efficiency, passing the savings on to the consumer in the form of lower prices. All in all, Walmart provides a shopping experience that genuinely improves people’s lives.
I have to go abroad again soon. I will miss my family and my friends in America. And I am definitely going to miss Walmart.
Ew sorry. Strip malls are what I like least about this country.
Wally World isn’t a strip mall?
You don’t miss/appreciate the water until the well runs dry.
There are Walmarts all over Mexico. But the selection is 1/100th of what we can get here in the USA.
Take shower curtains. Here there are probably 20 different types and sizes, and all are thick and milder resistant. There, you might find 4 or 5 and they are super thin and get moldy inside a week.
It still is better than Mega or some of the others but still way short of what we have here.
Oh good God.
This is the best reason to love America?
LOL
And Wal-Mart, while largely filling these descriptions, is at the same time a picture of how low-class and craven we’ve become. People so desperate to save a couple bucks, they’ll put up with the cruddy and non-existent service, etc.
Hey, I like WM OK, but it’s not “all that”. I agree with buying cheap stuff for our son because they change sizes etc every year, but beyond that, big deal.
Well stocked shelves?!!! It’s been decades since I’ve seen well stocked shelves at a Walmart.
I just moved to Bentonville, Arkansas. We are now big fans of Walmart. The amount the Walton family has invested in this community is staggering! There are art museums, bike trails, and parks all over!
You know what my parents missed most when they vacationed in Europe?
ICE.
Apparently they don’t have the money for making ice for drinks. Only McDonalds offered them real ice.
And real drug stores. Any store that had lots of stuff. It was like they were a century behind in what was available.
My sister and family lived in Europe for many years, mostly Frankfort and Belgium, brother in law worked for NATO.
The stores all close at 5, about 4:30 if the line is long they send you home empty-handed.
Many of her local friends did not believe the Walmart stories!
One friend visiting the USA took a cab from the airport to the nearest Walmart!
After checking it out went to the nearest payphone(pre-cell phone) and called home to tell them it was real!!!
Exactly. And the selection has dwindled like mad as Walmart, like so many other retailers, pushes its private label junk.
They have another store similar to Walmart called Real.
You get creative. When I lived in Sweden - coat hangers were about 5 for $2. I needed probably 300 of them. I went around to the dry cleaners and bought wire hangers from them. Did the job...
Like any business in America, go where you can afford to buy and where you want to spend your money.
Since the advent of amazon and their success, I usually comparison shop via the net.
I check out two or three places for the same product, and if it is going to be fairly pricey {over $1000} I'll check out consumer reports and get their opinion.
If it's just a small tool, power saw, drill etc. I know about what I want and will comparison shop for price, etc.
Hmm... I haven’t set foot in a walmart in over 12 years, and I don’t miss it at all.
I’m guessing you’ve never been to a Walmart, because they are not in strip malls...
Yes, indeed. Wal-Mart is getting a lot of credit for something that has long been around.
For us in the way old day, it was Kresge’s which became K-Mart. Our last “big box” type store to go away was that and Caldor. We made many others.
Never mind all the famous 5 and dimes that in my day, were also in malls. McCrory’s and Woolworth’s. They are small so they are more replaced by Dollar General et al.
It’s just more of the same, replaced by newer successes that supersede.
There are Walmarts all over Mexico. But the selection
is 1/100th of what we can get here in the USA.
************
Yep as a business you can only provide/supply what the
customers can afford to buy. Otherwise you are a store
with lots of expensive items that the shoppers can’t
buy. If the customer’s spendable rises I bet the items
for purchase would increase also.
I’ll take Wal Mart.
The BLM talking buttholes can have Venezuela, which they are most definitely going to get.
How does a blow dryer rip a chunk of hair out of someone’s head?
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