Headline: American Families Now Save $2,500 a Year, Thanks to Wal-Mart

[chinaco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet Good catch citril! Yeah, it is ironic. Our Walmart situation here in Chicago-land seems to be working a little differently than it is in small town America. The city of Chicago itself, to the best of my knowledge, has no Walmarts. Here in the suburbs, there are Walmarts and Sam's Clubs, but they have tough competition and are considered just another big box discount store available to check for best prices/quality/service. They clearly don't dominate. There is a Walmart about two miles from me. It occupies a building formerly occupied by a KMart. I think they're doing a better job in all regards than the KMart folks did. And I'm glad they're there competing with the other big box discount stores for both customers and employees. It keeps everyone honest and on their toes.

Yes... but one thing is for sure. Walmart has put pricing pressure on competitors and manufacturers... a good thing for consumers in my book.

Of course, Walmart is only interested in making money. It is a business and they are working their strategy. In a way, they are the retail goods version of Vanguard.

[bosco]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinaco Yes... but one thing is for sure. Walmart has put pricing pressure on competitors and manufacturers... a good thing for consumers in my book.

I think the kind of pressure they have put is not a good thing, at least long-term.

Just be sure you check the brand mark closely. You might not be getting exactly what you think you are.

Last time I checked, Amazon didn't reduce their prices by selling me an abridged version of a book without clearly telling me so.

[playaman]

Guys, pay attention to precisely what the article says:

"The conclusion of this update is that the continued reduction in prices due to the presence of Wal-Mart and the growth in consumer expenditures over the 2004 to 2006 period translates directly into savings for consumers amounting to $287 billion in 2006. This corresponds to savings of $957 per person or $2,500 per household..."

This is a classic economic impact argument -- i.e., that the presence of Wal-Mart forces prices down throughout the economy. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. I detest Wal-Mart and buy little there, but the argument may well be valid ...

[Michael]

All I know is that the CPI goes up every single year, despite Wal Mart. Consumers save nothing if prices overall are rising.