Wal-Mart weak spots.

We posed a long and leading multi-part question to a cross section of our shoppers to get close to how they are reacting to the combination of Wal-Mart in the news and Wal-Mart as a place to shop. "Does Wal-Mart still mean low prices? Are their prices always, or almost always, lower? Is the experience of shopping there satisfactory? Is the merchandise as good as Target's? Are their perishables as good as supermarkets?

Here's what we heard:

* Many Wal-Mart stores are showing signs of age that negatively impact the shopping experience.

* Their quality image seems to be slipping. "You get what you pay for." The input we have received to our leading question is strictly qualitative, and the perception that quality is broadly slipping is just an inference, but what our shoppers said strongly suggests a significant change in the perceptions of merchandise quality across many categories.

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* Wal-Mart's local competition and local retail operations have much more impact on shopping decisions than issues. Shoppers who are sensitive to and concerned about food, health, ecology, and/or social and labor issues are likely shopping somewhere other than Wal-Mart (and especially likely to be shopping at Whole Foods or Wegman's.)

* Many shoppers think Wal-Mart produce is of poor quality and poor value. Wal-Mart's announcement of plans to introduce organic produce in a big way may be a strategic response to their major weakness as a food retailer. "The only really bad thing about Wal-Mart is their produce, which is not as cheap as other stores. The produce isn't very good either. And I notice that other stores run sales on their vegetables and Wal-Mart doesn't."

* The quality of merchandise is widely perceived to be higher at Target, and there are more, and some say smarter, sales associates at Target than at Wal-Mart.

* Target's tonier image has fueled a class distinction that leads some shoppers to avoid Wal-Mart.

ON THE OTHER HAND:

* Wal-Mart's low-price image is still strong. Shoppers on limited income believe that it is the only place they can afford to shop.

* Opinions about Wal-Mart are entrenched and resistant to change.

* The low-price, full-store combination promotes one-stop shopping and fewer shopping trips. Wal-Mart says that their sales are being negatively impacted by high gas prices, but our Wal-Mart shoppers are trying to buy more on each trip to make fewer trips.

* Wal-Mart fans remain fans. Their appreciation of low prices and broad availability makes them brush off the flack, criticism, and the fact that some of their friends and neighbors won't shop there.

* Many shoppers understand that Wal-Mart puts small stores out of business. In addition to bringing lower prices to neighborhoods and communities that would face higher prices without Wal-Mart, they are guilty of the same neighborhood-pricing practices as the smaller stores they replaced; e.g., their prices are believed to be higher in poorer neighborhoods, where there is less competition.

* The most committed Wal-Mart avoiders are former "mom and pops" and vendors who have failed to make the cut, or been cut after they did.

Here are some of their responses in their own words:

* "I buy at Wal-Mart. The prices are so much lower than other stores, it astounds me. I go into Publix and see the same thing I've priced in Wal-Mart,. and they want $1 more for the same item! I can't believe it. I used to shop at Publix all the time. Now I can't because I feel I am being overcharged. I have gone to the other store, Target, and it's the same thing. The thing about Wal-Mart is, if they aren't making enough money off something, they stop carrying it. It really ticks me off, I have to go to another store and then pay a lot more. But I have been buying $1.78 orange juice for years and they have only just now raised the price on it. I can understand that."

* "You tend to buy a lot more at Wal-Mart, instead of running all around town. They don't have a lot of advertising either. You just go and see what the price is."

* "Sales associates at Wal-Mart are barely a step above sales associates at K-mart. Target employees are two steps above Wal-Mart, but even they are rarely knowledgeable enough to be helpful about more than finding out whether or not they have the specific thing you are looking for."

* "Bah, Humbug is how I feel, but I shop there any way. Like it or not, who can afford to pay a dollar or more for each of the same items at other stores?"

* "Wal-Mart is the only store, with the exception of meat purchases, that we can afford to shop at. We buy virtually everything else there. Very rarely we will go to another store to pick up one of their weekly specials. When we do this we often look around to price the items we purchase at Wal-Mart. We are seldom, if ever, able to even come close to the Wal-Mart price."

* "I try to balance my shopping in Wal-Mart with other alternatives, but they continue to have lower prices than most, if not all, on a regular basis. I have a number of friends who will not shop there under any circumstances, but I feel it is an alternative to rip-off stores in poorer neighborhoods. I think Wal-Mart brought an expanded shopping experience to many small towns. Prices can vary from store to store. Just paid $30 for a clock radio/phone, then happened to be in another Wal-Mart and saw the same model for $5 more. (Luckily, the difference was in my favor.) The higher price store was in a lower income area."

* "I shop at Target sometimes, but never Wal-Mart. They are building stores in holy places and doing other bad things. Next thing you know, they'll be trying to open a store at Angkor Wat."

* "The experience of shopping at the store here in Laurel (Maryland) is awful. It's dirty and crowded--it's demeaning to go there to save fifty cents. It makes me think of standing in line for bread in Russia."

* "It's hard to avoid Wal-Mart altogether. I was doing comparison shopping on canning items, and Wal-Mart was 10-35% lower. The experience is basic--longer lines and limited choice in many food and health items. Very poor quality in produce and meats. Yet the back-to-school selection was more than adequate, and the prices were very low."

* "Good as Target -- no. The quality of most non-grocery type items is definitely lower than Target, and the selection of many home goods is limited and cheap looking."

* "I did notice Wal-Mart ads are getting more modern looking. But they will need the right combination of style/quantity to get me to consider them for items beyond grocery items."

* "We will continue to shop at Wal-Mart as often as in the past several years. I agree with everything you have stated, as well as with Mr. Young. Wal-Mart continues to have lower prices overall than its only competitors here in San Antonio: HEB and Super Target. There are few local, mostly ethnic, grocery stores, and they do have lower prices, but they also have poorer quality meat and fewer brands from which to choose. The exception to our experience with Wal-Mart meats has not been good. We prefer HEB meat and produce. We make food purchases at Target only when they have exceptional sales."

* "I guess I'm a snob, but I've learned to NEVER go to Wal-Mart early in the month. It's awful."

* "The Wal-Mart closest to me has gotten dumpy. When they first opened, I loved shopping there. I found some name brands, the prices were good, and the store was clean. Now, the store is a mess, the quality is not as good, there are more store brands and fewer name brands, and the prices seem the same as everywhere else. I now go to Target. Target has great quality products, decent prices, and the store is immaculate. They seem to have more people on the floor keeping it in order, and the quality of products seems better than Wal-Mart. In Rhode Island at least, Target is much better than Wal-Mart."

* "I don't like Wal-Mart and will not step into their stores. They are not only unfair to employees but also to vendors. They nickel and dime them, and then drop them."

* "I absolutely love Wal-Mart, especially the Super Wal-Marts, which are not too close to us. They have the best prices on health and beauty, food, candy, baby items, etc. If you can overlook a few things, you will find the best prices there."

* "My city just rejected a bid from Wal-Mart. I do not shop there, but the few times I have had to go find one, I have not found it to be pleasant. I like to find a bargain but the merchandise at Wal-Mart has always disappointed."

* "Wal-Mart will not attract higher-income shoppers. Their stuff is cheaply made and cheap -- bottom line. I do shop at Wal-Mart because of the cheaper prices. I shop at Target first and more often, but there are some things I will go out of my way to get at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart does mean low prices, but it does not mean high quality. Wal-Mart's prices are usually lower than Target's, but for me Target is closer and better."

* "Wellll, sometimes the checkers are not the brightest, and because of the cheap prices it draws a different clientele from say a Target. So, with that in mind, I know what my experience will be, and I deal with it. The elderly greeters are very nice and helpful. I will say that it far exceeds our K-marts, which I think are downright awful as far as having stock on hand that is in the ads. I have always been a true Wal-Mart fan because of the great pricing. They seem to beat anyone anywhere."