Walmart's Market Trends

Since 1962 and the beginning of the discount retailer market Wal-Mart has been ahead of the retail game. By 1967 there were 24 Wal-Marts that had grossed 12.6 million dollars. In just 7 years Wal-mart had spread into 9 states. By 1979 Wal-Mart was the fastest store to reach a billion dollars in sales. In 2005 Wal-Mart has 3,800 domestic stores along with 3,800 stores internationally, and had made over 312 billion dollars. As you can see the Wal-Mart empire has grown monumentally. To move into this segment of the market would be tough.

The retail industry is one of the largest industries in the world, by business numbers and employees. Plunkett Research Ltd. As of 2011 Wal-Mart was still the giant of the retail market. As Wal-Mart nearest competitor Target heats up the market, Target seems to be gaining in customer loyalty and has picked up on Wal-Marts grocery strategy. According to the Plunkett report, recession ravaged consumers not only want dry goods at a discount, but they also want groceries discounted (PlunkettResearch.Com, 2012). Target also has been gaining customers who want stylish well organized stores that appeal to their senses.

The sheer size of Wal-Mart allows them to negotiate better pricing from a manufacturer and/or shipping companies and pass those savings on to the customer. It is true that some small retailers may not be able to compete directly with Wal-Mart's pricing. Some critics also add, once Wal-Mart drives out competition in an area they will increase their prices. Wal-Mart enters with low prices and large selections then maintains those low prices. De Coster and Edmonds go on to ask, "Where is the evidence of Wal-Mart ever driving up prices after becoming established in the market” (633)? Wal-Mart must also compete with larger specialty retailers such as Home Depot and Lowes in the hardware/home improvement market, Bass Pro and Cabela's in the hunting/outdoor market, Sports Authority and Dick's Sporting Goods in the recreational sports market, and PetsMart and PetCo in the pet care market. These large retailers, due to their size, are also able to benefit

This paper will discuss the kroger company’s strategy and competitive advantage. It will also discuss competition and strategy from rival company Walmart. Research will show whether Kroger uses an offensive or defensive strategic approach to business practices. It will discuss mergers and acquisitions of The Kroger Company (Bethel University, 2017).

Grocery industry is a highly competitive market with thin profit margins. Super markets are dominant players in the grocery industry. They use grocery offerings to drive traffic to their higher profit margin retail items. With its operations efficiency, Walmart, the largest grocery retailer has been able to offer significant price drops. This also forces other grocery stores to drop prices which keeps the profit margin thin. Even with all the advantages of operational efficiency and economies of scale, Walmart’s share in grocery sales was down at 51% in 2011.

In a society that has seen such a drastic downturn in the economy, people are searching for the best possible bargains they can find. People across the United States are looking for ways to save money; thus, searching for stores that will provide them with everything they need at a lower cost. Companies all over the United States are fighting to stay competitive and are seeking ways to restructure their company and still provide for consumers the best possible prices. Companies such as Wal-Mart do not have to change their structure to fit the demands of consumers because it already offers its customers brand name items

The rivalry among existing competitors is high because there is a large number of domestic and international discount retails, internet based retails and magazine competing with Wal-Mart (Soni, 2015). Target, Kohl’s, Dollar group, Kroger, and Costco are some of the national chain competing with the company. For example, in 2015, Wal-Mart’s grocery sales slowdown compared to its rival Kroger, which sales rise to 5.3 %. Also, in 2015 Wal-Mart e-commerce sales rose 17%, while its rival Amazon’s sales rose 25%. Furthermore, Sam’s Club (Wal-Mart chain) and its rival Costco gets a lot of revenue by selling gas. In 2015 Sam’s Club reported a gas sale increase of 0.4% while its rival Costco reported a gas sale increase of 7% ( Wahba, 2015). Despite

The development of the Internet and more specifically the business website has seen brand recognition by consumers escalate to never before seen heights. Because of this brand recognition, it has become important for businesses to design their websites to reflect their overall marketing strategies. This is especially important in the retail world. All retail businesses have a similar overall marketing strategy of generating sales and retaining the customer for future sales. Most of the retail giants still greatly rely on the success of their brick and mortar stores to turn a profit. However, internet sales for these brick and mortar stores have increasingly risen over the last few years to compete with the retail stores like Amazon that are strictly internet based businesses. Brick and mortar retail stores, such as Walmart, Target, Kmart, and Nordstrom, have each designed their websites to reflect the overall retail marketing strategy as well as the individual marketing strategies that have made their brick and mortar businesses successful.

Walmart serves nearly 260 million customers weekly across 27 different countries, both in stores and through its websites (“Fortune”, 2015). Walmart relies heavily on its proper and effective marketing strategies; Walmart would not be able to achieve the level of success without these strategies. Low prices, easy access for its customers, and social media campaigns are a few of the vital tactics Walmart has used in its marketing plan. “Save Money. Live Better” is Walmart’s mission in delivering customers products at the lowest prices. This low price strategy plays a marketing role that caters to customers who seek the lowest prices and with grocery stores that provide great deals (Brown, 2017). Walmart’s low cost business model is protected by its powerful supply and distribution chains throughout the world. Customers can expect the same cost efficient style in every Walmart store worldwide.

In 1962, Wal-Mart was built sometime by Sam Walton in Roger, Arkansas. Wal-Mart has 5,100 stores and clubs all over the United States and a sum of 8,300 unit's global. The company was able to employ something like over 2 million associates from all over the world and about 2.4 million in the United States. Wal-Marts average annual total income rate was somewhat in excess of 10% for the three years from the fiscal year that is ending 2009 to the fiscal year ending 2011 (Blanchard, 2008). Research shows that they also had what was known as a stock split of 100 %; Wal-Mart was able to see this split 12 times all through the eras of 1973 through 2002. They have received many awards and were categorized 5th in Fortune magazine's "Global Most Well-regarded All-Stars" as the third most appreciated corporation in America (Wal-Mart, 2013)

To be the world 's largest low cost store that carries all types of merchandise for all possible consumers.

Wal-Mart was founded by businessman Sam Walton in 1962 as a small retail store in Arkansas, USA. From there it has grown to become the largest retail giant in the world. Ranked by Forbes 2000 list for 2011 as the 18th largest public corporation in the world, Wal-Mart is the highest revenue generating public entity in the world as of 31st January 2011, with gross revenue of 422 billion US Dollars (Walmart Annual Report, 2011). It is also noted for being the largest private employer in the world having just over 2 million employees serving in 8500 stores, in 15 different countries, under 55 different names, worldwide. (Daniel, 2010)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. helps individuals around the globe spare cash and live better - at whatever time and anyplace - in retail locations, online and through their cell phones. Every week, more than 245 million clients and individuals visit our almost 11,000 stores under 65 flags in 28 nations and e-trade sites in 11 nations. With financial year 2015 net offers of $482.2 billion, Wal-Mart utilizes 2.2 million partners around the world. (Wal-Mart Corporate) Wal-Mart is a superpower in the business world and has been that way for 50+ years. Understanding how it got to this point and how it has maintained its successful business model starts with its

* SHOW: These are essentials that Walmart must carry to maintain its “one stop” shopping reputation, i.e. hardware. Walmart’s alternative pricing strategy is the “everyday low pricing and discount pricing” by offering short term price cutting tactics in form of coupons, rebates and their guaranteed ‘match it’ they have successfully maintained low pricing on their products.

Wal-Mart is a company which operates in the service sector, more specifically in the “Discount, Variety Stores/Retail” industry. The company’s superior performance is demonstrated through the fact that it was America’s largest company (in terms of revenue) in 2002, and the reputation of the company is reflected in the opinion of “Fortune” who have identified Wal-Mart as one of the world’s most admired companies. In 2004 Wal-Mart had been hiring 1.4 million employees – making it the largest corporation in the world. Wal-Mart’s share prices have also been stable at time of stock market volatility. There are