Criticizing Walmart is quickly becoming a national past-time, second only to mocking Sarah Palin. There were individuals who were so considerate as to provide a channel for our Walmart-bashing—hence the creation of People of Walmart. For the uninitiated, this is a website dedicated to user-submitted photos of overweight, poorly dressed or simply awkward shoppers at the supermarket.
I am ashamed to admit, the site tweaked a few chuckles out of me. But, I have to wonder, why is there such an outpouring of hatred towards Walmart? Perhaps the competition between “mom and pop shops” versus the international conglomerate is too easily compared to David versus Goliath. As consumers, our sympathies go to the underdog. Allegations of predatory pricing and employee mistreatment certainly don’t help Walmart’s public image.
If any corporation is in urgent need of Community Relations 2.0, it is Walmart. In a SWOT analysis of the supermarket, negative public perception would be a blindingly obvious weakness. Social media is an important tool that the company needs to utilize to win over the public. I’m sure we won’t have to wait long before Walmart starts sending out friend requests on Facebook. Meanwhile? I’ll be a regular visitor of peopleofwalmart.com.
