Weak economy may be Wal-Mart’s strong suit

A recent Harris Interactive survey showed a statistically significant drop in people’s perception of Wal-Mart’s reputation between its 2006 and 2007 surveys. The score of 64.95 means “you’ve probably got some real serious red flags in a number of the attributes,” said Robert Fronk, Harris Interactive’s reputation strategist.

Indeed, some shoppers continue to have the same complaints that have dogged the company for years.

Teresa Behal shops at Wal-Mart to save money, but that doesn’t mean the 49-year-old Durant, Iowa, resident likes it. With such a large store, she said it can seem like a workout to get from the shampoo aisle to the milk case. Behal often is disappointed in the quality of the produce, and she says it can take too long to check out. She also sometimes thinks she’s not getting as good of a bargain as one might expect.

“It’s not a fun experience,” said another shopper, Amy Knight, 42.

Knight, who lives in Tampa, Fla., used to avoid Wal-Mart because she doesn’t like how the company treats its workers and doesn’t think the company is involved enough in local communities. She also dislikes how crowded the stores are.

Recently, however, the moving business she runs with her husband has been hurt by the housing downturn combined with high gas prices. That’s left the mother of four with less money to spend on necessities, and now she is a regular Wal-Mart shopper. Still, she’s hoping it won’t be forever.

“Honestly, as soon as I can afford not to shop at Wal-Mart, I will,” she said.

‘You shop at Wal-Mart? Why?’
Sieglinde Proctor used to count herself among those who felt like they could afford not to shop at Wal-Mart. When she did broach the idea of shopping there with friends, she said they were dismayed.

“People would say, ‘You shop at Wal-Mart? Why?’” she recalls.

Now, Proctor wonders why she ever wasted money shopping elsewhere. The 60-year-old Gulfport, Fla., resident estimates that she saves $15 every week by shopping at Wal-Mart —money she badly needs in these hard economic times.

“I have to try to survive and I’ll do whatever I need to do, … and Wal-Mart’s been a huge part of it,” she said.

Still, there are some people who say that they will never shop at Wal-Mart, no matter how bad the economy gets. Jill Lane, 45, has long felt that Wal-Mart hurts local businesses, but she really lost faith in the company after reading reports that Wal-Mart sued a disabled former employee to recoup its own medical costs. The company eventually dropped the widely panned effort, but in Lane’s mind the damage was already done.

Others question whether Wal-Mart really offers the best bargain.

With three of her nine children still living at home, Kim Leatherberry estimates that her grocery bill runs to about $1,600 a month. Still, Leatherberry doesn’t think she saves much by shopping at Wal-Mart, especially if she hunts for bargains elsewhere. The cost of getting there also is a factor: She has to drive 20 miles to reach the nearest Wal-Mart.

Over the years, Leatherberry also has become disillusioned by the quality of certain Wal-Mart purchases. The 45-year-old, who lives in Garnavillo, Iowa, says that even with rising prices she tries to avoid Wal-Mart unless she can’t get what she needs anywhere else.

“I go in there and I get so frustrated, and I just prefer not to shop there,” she said.

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