No one wants to drive out to Walmart stores anymore

[eridani]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/24/1279989/-No-one-wants-to-drive-out-to-Wal-Mart-stores-anymore

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You can't blame food stamp cuts for that kind of steady decline. Energy prices and the corresponding shift in our car culture are getting part of the blame:

"It appears increasingly uneconomic for the customer to drive 20 to 30 miles round trip to a supercenter to save a marginal amount on consumable goods—particularly when consumables, including food, are becoming more broadly distributed," [Credit Suisse analyst Michael] Exstein said.

So now analysts are demanding that Walmart start shuttering those stores in favor of smaller-footprint in-town "neighborhood market" stores. As for those increasingly decrepit concrete monstrosities outside of town?

Unfortunately, the joke's ultimately on us, or at least our local governments. The big box development model -- build on cheap land on the edge of the community with taxpayers subsidizing your hard infrastructure/transportation costs, tilting the competitive landscape in your favor in the process -- is designed to be transitory. These buildings are, unlike the miles of public pipe and asphalt that serve them, quite disposable.

Lucky for Walmart, finding space for their "neighborhood markets" shouldn't be much of a problem. There is plenty of empty retail space in those downtowns they helped decimate in the first place. .

[JJChambers]

1. Neighborhood market

We have several grocery stories here and Neighborhood Market is easily the cleanest, cheapest, and has the best selection. YMMV

[Warpy]

2. I always did my shopping at a union grocery across the street

from a Stupidcenter. Unfortunately, after 10 brave years, the store managers finally threw in the towel and the place closed in October.

Wally's is closest. However, there are other markets within a 10 minute drive including an international market that stocks things like yard long beans and fresh water chestnuts and how the hell could Wally's ever compete with that? Exotic to them means leeks.

What I do see in my very poor area in a poor state is people shopping for food at The Dollar Store and Odd Lots and then go to Wally's for whatever they've missed on their lists.

ETA: Yes, it's false economy to spend five bucks on gas for the F-150 to save three bucks on stuff that could be bought a lot closer. I can see a once a month trip to buy a month's supply of things like tomato sauce, rice, pasta, cold and hot cereal, and other non perishable stuff that will last a month (or more). Perishable stuff should be bought more frequently and closer to home.

[RebelOne]

3. Walmart is only a 5-minute trip from my house,

but I prefer shopping at Kroger which is only a 2-minute trip in the other direction. I only go to Walmart when absolutely necessary for any items that are cheaper than the local retail stores.

[postulater]

4. 2 blocks from here Lowes closed and Walmart is ripping the building apart and

moving in.

I wonder how long that will last.

[Le Taz Hot]

5. There's a new Wally World that will open up

where the old Mervyn's used to be. It's only a few blocks from my house. Between this town and the next we have probably 6 Wally World's already. I'm not sure what the point to having another one is. I'm REALLY pissed about having to subsidize another one of these shit stain businesses.

Luckily, there's a lot of choices for obtaining produce -- everything from larger box stores (Von's, SaveMart) to small, mom-and-pops, to farmer's markets and specialty stores that there's absolutely no reason for me to ever have to step inside one of those behemoths.

[doc03]

6. I guess I go to Walmart about 5 or 6 times a year. I will gladly drive miles

out of the way rather than spend money at Walmart, that company has destroyed our country.

[Corruption Inc]

7. A person should also be careful driving anywhere within a 5 mile radius of a WMT too

Lots of ignorant drivers abound. Think I'm kidding, take a drive near a pukemart any day of the week and observe.

[rrneck]

8. They don't have any money after they buy the gas to get there. nt

[Kablooie]

9. We've got a new Walmart neighborhood market about 5 miles away.

My wife went there last night to check it out.
She was shocked that the regular prices were about the same as special sale prices at the regular grocery stores.
I pointed out the political issues over shopping at Walmart but she didn't care.
The prices hooked her and I expect she'll be going there more often now.

It's strange that Walmart didn't advertise when they opened and the store has no signage visible from the street.
It looks like an old warehouse but when you drive around the back to the parking lot it has a small Walmart sign above the door.