Is Wal-Mart the prototype for all super stores?

No, i don't think that all other stores should just follow wal-mart steps, because as they become big, the customer service will definitely not be on pair with it, and that will ruin the whole thing. I still prefer to visit local markets than wal-mart because of that.

 

If I understand you are asking as to the "super store" chains, should others follow the same format, layout and general philosophy? Actually I have been to these types of stores well before Wal Mart. Meaning rather than a department store like a typical Walmart, there is a grocery store as part of the same store. So general Merchandise AND a grocery store, in the same building I saw back east years ago.

I do like Walmart for general merchandise, but from what I have seen of the superstores, it is just like a grocery stuck in. I do not see anything novel or distinctive and really find that it adds more crowding in the lot and store. I don't see it as more convenient since you generally still have to grocery shop last if you are dealing with cold or frozen foods.

 

I think the model is good, as long as the customer service doesn't suffer. Part of customer satisfaction are things such as low prices, and a large selection. Other elements of great customer service is actually courtesy, assistance, and support to the consumer. I think that if that suffers, then the rest of the perks will fail regardless. So long as other companies mimic all of those traits, then yes, I think Walmart is a great model to use for what they do and offer.

 

I hope not! Exhaustive option and moderately lower price is the only thing that they got going for them. I've had many horrible experiences visiting their stores!
The employees get treated badly by their bosses and most of the time they take it out by being lifeless at the stores! They need to make it a priority to treat them better!

 

It depends on the store. I think Kmart should try to be more like Walmart because Kmart doesn't have a lot of product choices and their grocery section sucks.

I don't think Target should try to be more like Walmart because Target's niche is being the stylish big box store that carries budget lines by famous designers.
Target should keep being stylish and selling moderately priced items that cost more than Walmart. They have a cool image and it works for them.

 

I believe WalMart is a prototype of super store, but not the prototype for all of them because it lacks of variety.

Many people might not perceive this, but before Walmart started to incorporate small stores into the chain, there were supermarkets that today could be considered prototype of all super stores, where it was possible to find 10 or more different brands of mayonnaise, just to say something, including imported products for each item selection, and also different packing sizes.

Similarly going through WalMart's different departments, I feel there is something missing to achieve the category of "super store" and agree that many times some products are more expensive there, but this is all about doing a research for the cheaper prices before actually go shopping there.

Sometime they have cheap items compared with other stores, but it's necessary organize your shopping tour with anticipation because sometimes it's necessary buy from 2 or 3 stores to get the best weekly deals.

 

Wal-Mart took the department store concept and refined it to provide: best prices; attractive, if not elaborate displays; and predictability. On the latter, if you go to any Wal-Mart in the country, the general layout is very similar, so you never feel lost like you often do when going into a regional store. The concept was nationally originated by K-Mart, but it was slow to recognize what significant innovations Wal-Mart had wrought, and so K-Mart came to be depressingly drab. Target based their stores on Wal-Mart, but just a touch more upscale. Nothing works like success, so any business that creates a strikingly successful innovation has many imitators for a time - until another comes up with the next big innovation.

 

I think Wal-Mart has become ''yesterday's prototype'' it seems to me that it has become rather dated over the last few years. They were definitely ahead of the game at one time, fresh and innovative but i feel they have become a bit stale and not really moved forward for quite sometime.

We need a major revamp from Wal-Mart or someone else to come along with fresh ideas to challenge them, also i don't think they sell enough high quality product, they sell some good stuff but also a lot of cheap tat. None of these type of stores sell high quality goods that will last long term, there is a gap in the market for that. It is time to take the supermarket concept to a higher level, Wal-Mart are standing still at the moment.

 

By the way, the official word for a store like Walmart Supercenter or Big K is a hypermarket. A hypermarket is a story that combines a supermarket with a discount store.

 

I've actually read that Wal-Mart is testing out smaller stores these days, and moving away from their huge store prototypes, in response to a decline in sales and customers.

Don't get me wrong, I got suckered into all these larger stores that started popping up in the 90's with enormous selections - they made smaller department stores like K-Mart and Ames look rather sad by comparison. I recall many stores in the 70's and 80's when I was growing up being much more modest in terms of decor and product offerings - at least in my neck of the woods.

But now I've really grown tired of all these mega stores. Not to mention it's a total nightmare trying to check out of any of them, because you keep getting behind people with huge buggies full of stuff that take forever to ring up. At least when you go to smaller specialty stores that only focus on one line of products, there are fewer people there to wait in line behind or get in your way.

If I am only running into the store to get some deodorant and toothpaste, I don't want to get stuck behind some family that has a cart filled to the top with groceries, lawn care stuff, diapers, clothes, and kitchen appliances, etc...

 

By "all super stores" do you mean all super stores in North America or would super stores in Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania be part of that list as well? As far as I know, although Wal-Mart's pretty popular and it has probably has branches overseas, the hypermarts or big supermarkets in my country implement their own system. They're very particular with culture so they adjust their services and promos based on prevailing sentiment.