Wal-Mart has made the retail world more efficient. How is this bad for the economy?

Answer 1

Walmart became good through wise deployment of supply chains technologies. But it got very big, it used its buying power and drove its suppliers to sell goods at next to zero margin.

The impact is that not only Walmart gained big market shares from other retailers but small mom and pop shops are driven out of their business. Small shops don't have purchasing powers of goods and they need margins to sustain themselves.

When big companies use their financial mights to drive out competitors, all you have is that each community will have the same megashops and everybody works for mega companies. When small businesses are not allowed to grow, there will be no innovations and fair competition.

It was on the news that Walmart and most big companies paid only around 5% tax due to tax loopholes and clever accounting (though legal). As usual, ordinary people and ordinary businesses pay most of the taxes while the rich and big corps influence policies to their favor

Answer 2

I wish I was more articulate and not quite so sleepy for this one.

Wal Mart destroys local competition by being able to offer prices lower than any smaller business. The loss of these businesses also means loss of jobs and loss of available products. WM is able to do this by massive purchasing power and deciding what it will offer in it's stores. In my town WM has run all of the fabric and sewing stores out of business. Now, after nearly 10 years with no other fabric stores available, WM has decided to stop selling sewing supplies and fabrics. So we are left with a void that would never have occured without WM and it's huge fist. The same is true with sporting goods, auto supplies, groceries, clothing, and when was the last time you saw a vacume cleaner sales & repair shop? Many businesses were made obsolete by WM's huge purchasing power. The impact is not local however. The impact on these types of businesses, their suppliers and vendors, has been wide, and long lasting. Now that there is an opening for the fabric and sewing stores to return to this area, the suppliers have changed, some are gone, and I think that not many people would feel secure opening a store that WM might decide to challenge again in a year or two. The impact and damage are wide spread and probably permenant.

The products that we are now able to find in any area that has a Wal Mart has been seriously trimmed. The wages that WM pays is pretty low. Even it's assistant managers are not paid much more than a regular sales associate.

There are multiple layers to the dark side of having a Wal Mart in town. I used to work for Wal Mart, but the funny thing was that they didn't pay enough for me to shop there. And I never worked as hard in any other job in my life. That is pathetic.

The efficiency that WM has perfected is not a bad thing in itself, but it basically eliminates the need for people, and this idea seems to have become the solid base for all the WM does . . . they don't treat their people well and I think the underlying desire to make the human employee unnecessary is the reason. They see the employee as a business necessity that costs too much and needs to be trimmed. Not as young parents trying to raise kids, or retired folks who can't afford their medications. They play at being human-oriented with silly pep rallys and other nonsense displays, but a better wage or benefits, or not havng to skip lunch because there is no one to cover for them would be much more sensible and pro-worker actions. It was a tough place to work because we didn't count to the company. Not even as assets that could increase business. We were treated more as parasites.

Wal Mart is an amazing machine. But it has at it's heart a few very greedy people. I don't begrudge them the spoils of what their imagination and ingenuity has brought them, but they crossed a line that went from good business and smart marketing to cold and hearltess greed.

Answer 3

By putting more types of product in their stores they can use that as leverage against their vendors to keep costs low. This is mostly done by telling one vendor a competitor will lower their cost and if they wish to stay a vendor they need to do the same. Remember Vlasic pickles? Not to many do anymore.
They also relay the discounts in part to the consumer making themselves more appealing and cost effective. WalMart stores in large cities can keep prices down to a degree but in smaller cities it's cost many jobs. Oppression by a mega store is never good for the economy in local areas.