The sinking value of the Wal-Mart experience

I stumbled across this commentary while reading one of my regular Wal-Mart-related feeds. I'm not disputing Stephen Crockett's points or debating his motivation for taking a stand against Wal-Mart. That's his business, and his reasons are well stated, whether I agree with them or not.

What caught my eye is the startling contradiction, if I may call it that, that emerges from his statements. On the one hand, he says:

I limited my [Wal-Mart] purchases somewhat as a result [of Wal-Mart's anti-union attitudes] but still bought some things because of convenience... I also limited my purchases there because Wal-Mart hurts many local businesses when it moves into a community.

Interestingly, these comments follow this admission:

I bought 20 pairs of the same type of shoe from Wal-Mart over the past six or seven years. Men are creatures of habit.

Two things really jump out at me. First, it sounds like Mr. Crockett shopped at Wal-Mart more often than he thinks he did. At the very least, it's safe to say that Wal-Mart was the first place he shopped for shoes. Second, people are indeed creatures of habit.

In these statements you find the fundamental building blocks of Wal-Mart's dominance: convenience and habit. That's why they have grown and why they continue to grow. As Wal-Mart opens more stores, they become even more convenient, and consumers become even more habitual in their shopping patterns.

I shop at Wal-Mart. I admit it. Sometimes I like what I find there. Sometimes I don't. I also shop at Lowe's, Target, Home Depot and other big box retailers. We all do. Why? Because this is what is available and convenient. These retailers have connected their operating models to American lifestyles and culture. The connection is so strong that even Mr. Crockett was willing, for a time, to disregard his strongly-held beliefs in order to buy shoes at Wal-Mart.

Mr. Crockett didn't stop shopping at Wal-Mart because of his ideology. It was because he was treated poorly as a customer. Poor customer service caused him to reevaluate everything he believes about shopping at Wal-Mart, not the least of which is Wal-Mart's abandonment of Sam Walton's "Buy American" purchasing ethic.

My point is this: Wal-Mart and other big box retailers will remain dominant until other retailers come along that can connect with customers even better than they do. Governments can try to stop the big boxes. Unions can organize to fight them. Individuals can start boycotts. Sure, Wal-Mart itself might hasten the process if they keep letting down customers like Mr. Crockett. But ultimately, only that quiet majority of consumers, those creatures of habit and convenience, will create substantive change.

And you know what? No one knows this better than Wal-Mart.