For as long as I can remember, Walmart has always been known for their affordable pricing on groceries, especially compared to any other leading supermarket. Save money, live better has been their marketing slogan attracting the lower and middle class everywhere. But as Macy Liebriech has said, their cheap prices aren’t the only things consumers remember about Walmart, the dirty washrooms, wet floors and unstocked shelves are also part of their whole shopping experience, leaving them a rather negative memory.

Walmart, at one point had built their entire branding and marketing around smiley faces but had more than the usual share of upset customers. There were constant complaints regarding dirty washrooms or poor customer service, therefore, only 16% of stores were meeting customer service goals. As a result, sales dropped for five straight quarters.

In order to combat the increasing decline in revenue, Walmart, known for their low wages, has actually decided to increase the salary of their workers in 2015. As Macy has pointed out, the person who suggested raising wages had a very strong knowledge of the importance of customer segments. And that person was correct in increasing wages as Walmart has seen an increase in overall profits and a reduction in employee turnover resulting in a more stable environment within stores.

I also agree with Macy’s statement that in the long run, it’ll stay positive due to the fact that everything is a chain reaction. I also see her connection with Porter’s sustainable competitive advantage theory, stating a company must have a combination of activity systems. Where “in Walmart’s case, it was time to move away from budget cuts and focus on investing in their employees.”

This year, Walmart plans on implement “Holiday Helpers” into their system in order to increase efficiency at check out lines and give consumers a better shopping experience this year, compared to past years. The “Holiday Helpers” will be wearing Santa hats and grabbing groceries you may have forgotten while you’re waiting in line in order to speed up the check out process.

Walmart is once again increasing their expenditure on wages. Will this be a hit or miss? Personally I believe it will be a hit and increase consumer’s interest in Walmart. I believe so because Walmart’s reputation in regards to customers satisfaction has been steadily going up while keeping prices affordable. By implementing “Holiday Helpers” which is very rare among grocery stores, I believe it will increase interest in Walmart due to the point of difference as well as the promise of more efficient lines.

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References

http://time.com/money/4547501/walmart-holiday-helpers/

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6932197-walmart-s-lesson-treat-employees-well-and-the-company-does-well/