What is Walmart like?

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hypnoticbacon28@reddit

I worked there for 9 years. It sucks overall.

On the plus side, most have an optometrist, hair salon, an auto care center, and maybe at most a couple restaurants inside. And I'm not going to deny that it can be convenient to get things from there, even though the services offered are basic and could be done better almost anywhere else.

But that's where the good parts end. Everything is either what you can get anywhere else or just flat out low end. People like to trash the whole store out of laziness. Managers may or may not create additional messes just to give employees more pointless busy work to do and make their day worse. And there's so much poop...

Oh, and People of Walmart shows the typical sights you see daily there. Walmart draws out the freaks, and it's like there's some magical force field that renders most people idiots.

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zippoguaillo@reddit

We call our versions of Aldi / lidl....aldi / lidl. Aldi is everywhere. Lidl just the southeastern US

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Now I feel incredibly stupid about every time I've laughed at an American being silly. How on earth didn't I know that?

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lyralady@reddit

Haha not only do we have Aldi and lidl (I'm not in the southeast and we have a lidl) but we also have the other Aldi chain (Aldi Nord), which is called Trader Joe's here.

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

I reckon I'm triple stupid now, I've heard of Trader Joes before but assumed it was the equivalent of Screwfix or B&Q there 😂😂

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zippoguaillo@reddit

It is the same size as a normal Aldi, but much more upscale. It is very fun worth a stop if you're here and near one

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FuckIPLaw@reddit

More upscale but not really more expensive, weirdly enough. I don't know if they make it up in volume or what. They're certainly pickier about where they put their stores.

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lyralady@reddit

Haha. our chain hardware stores are home depot, lowe's and maybe like, ace hardware.

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AnnieCamOG@reddit

Don't forget True Value.

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

There’s Lidl in New Jersey. None in California though.

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earmares@reddit

Aldi isn't in the middle/West of the US. None in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington. None in Colorado but they are supposedly getting some.

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HarveyMushman72@reddit

Need a manicure? A haircut? A Subway sandwich? Groceries? A gun? A pair of jeans? BBQ grill? Plants for your garden? An oil change or a new set of tires? A prescription? Need to cash your paycheck or send money to a loved one? Go to Walmart.

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Strict_Violinist1164@reddit

I need a live lobster, a shotgun, beer, and a golden girls chia pet. Does Walmart have me covered?

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FuckIPLaw@reddit

Thirty years ago, sure.

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Forsaken-Fig-3358@reddit

In many states alcohol can't be sold in a grocery store, so this one is location specific

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lemonprincess23@reddit

Live lobster may be hit or miss depending on where you live (shotgun might too), other than that you’re good

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tabby90@reddit

Yes

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

It’s more like a larger Carrefour. Tesco is at heart a grocery store. Walmart is a department store that sells groceries.

We have Aldi and Lidl here. Those are just grocery stores with a few extra goods.

Walmart is considered middle class, but on the lower end. Target is the higher end equivalent.

The thing that blows visitors, especially European ones, away, is the sheer volume of stuff. It’s not that you can’t get a ton of stuff at Tesco. It’s that Tesco will have twenty varieties of breakfast cereal. Walmart will have two hundred or more, an entire aisle. You want to buy a silicone spatula? There are twenty brands to choose from.

They also are the cheapest option usually, a combination of buyers who negotiate strict deals due to the sheer volume of purchases (there are 5,200 Walmarts in this country), and anti-worker policies that keep wages so low that many Walmart employees qualify for welfare.

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philthy_barstool@reddit

The thing that surprises me the most about this comment is your description of Walmart as a middle class department store.

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

Dollar General exists.

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philthy_barstool@reddit

Sorry, I'm not from round 'ere, I don't know what that means

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freenow4evr@reddit

Dollar General=the Dollar Store=everything sold for a dollar.

Basically, the poor person's Walmart. Although, even dollar stores charge more than a dollar now.

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ozone_00@reddit

You're thinking of Dollar Tree. Dollar General is, well, a general store that sells most things for an even dollar amount.

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KevrobLurker@reddit

Even $🌲 raised their lowest non-clearance price to $1.25 years ago. They now sell at $1.25 -$7. Same company owns Dollar General.

These have really rep!aced the old five & dime stores, such as Woolworth's.

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FuckIPLaw@reddit

And there's also five below, which is the further inflation adjusted version of Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree held onto that $1 for everything in the store pricing for so long that they cost reduced everything to oblivion. Five below is the same premise except it's everything is $5 or less instead of $1 or less. It puts it more in line with what dollar stores were in their heyday, or the five and dime before that.

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Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit

I see Dollar General as more of the small town’s go to for when you don’t want to drive all the way to the nearest city. They were smart to put one in nearly every small town I’ve been to in central Illinois. As major grocery stores pushed out the small town grocery stores, DG stepped in. You will see people across the socioeconomic spectrum there. They aren’t lovely, though.

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WonderingLost8993@reddit

Driving through rural Alabama and Georgia Dollar Generals are like Baptist Churches. There's one every five miles.

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Khpatton@reddit

Dollar General has never been a dollar store, at least not in my lifetime. It’s a general store that sells inexpensive basics, but most things are priced higher than a dollar.

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Funicularly@reddit

Dollar General isn’t a dollar store. I don’t think it ever has been.

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PantherkittySoftware@reddit

Target used to be higher-end than Walmart. It honestly feels like Target completely "lost its way" during the pandemic. Now, it just feels more like a slightly more expensive, but not actually nicer, version of Walmart with smaller selection

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Distinct_Damage_735@reddit

Not all Targets are exactly the same, though. I guess the merchandise is basically the same, but size, cleanliness, and quality of employees can vary a lot. My wife (from South Louisiana) had to convince me (from NYC) that Target could actually be decent, because my only experience was with probably the worse Target in America. Since the pandemic, my local Target has actually gotten better.

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New_York_or_nowhere@reddit

Atlantic Ave target?

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Distinct_Damage_735@reddit

That's the one! The Yelp reviews for that place were hilarious. Some choice phrases that I remember are "There could be a Target in North Korea or on the Sun and it would be better than this" and "This Target makes me want to invent a gun that fires bulldozers."

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

There is one near me that is the second worst, then. On 17th in Santa Ana, California. It’s so bad. So disheveled. And absolutely everything is locked behind those stupid barriers, so you end up having to ask an employee to follow you around and give you the things you need. It’s like going grocery shopping in the USSR.

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-Boston-Terrier-@reddit

I don't know how much I agree with this.

We went to Walmart for the first time since at least COVID only because we were at the movie theater across the street and it just reminded us exactly why we go to Target.

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czarfalcon@reddit

It really depends on what part of town they’re in. There’s one Walmart I occasionally go to where half the parking lot is full of luxury cars, and it’s definitely nicer than some of the Targets I’ve been in.

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-Boston-Terrier-@reddit

What's interesting for me is that I'm basically equal distance from two Walmarts and two Targets, the Walmarts are in a bit better of a location, but the Targets are better than the Walmarts.

Target is really my wife's thing though. They're not exactly the same kind of stores but I prefer the fewer items but higher quality of BJs and Costco.

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Intelligent_Pop1173@reddit

Yeah just needed to add on that nothing at Target is better. They’re just always more expensive. I don’t understand how they stay in business. It is so easy to price compare and they are always at least $2 more for the same item.

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MollyOMalley99@reddit

I used to prefer Target because their stores were cleaner and generally nicer. The one near me has gone through two complete renovations, rearranged the whole store, made the entire center of the store a gigantic baby department, and the front looks like the Macy's purse department with commensurate pricing. I can't find anything. I haven't been there in at least a year since I spent 20 minutes wandering around looking for wasp spray. Never did find it.

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WonderingLost8993@reddit

All this. The prices are out of control. I can go across the street to the mall and get better quality for lower prices.

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gard3nwitch@reddit

They stayed in business because the stores were cleaner, nicer, better stocked, they had a reputation of paying their employees better and supporting minority businesses and being overall more cool and trendy and fun.

They've kind of trashed that reputation in recent years, and their business is suffering as a result.

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79215185-1feb-44c6@reddit

Target is closer for me if I need something immediately and don't buy off of Amazon.

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Saltpork545@reddit

Walmart is a department store that sells groceries.

So I agree with most of what you say except this.

At one time, this was true. Back around the late 90s and early 2000s, around the time WM bought Asda in the UK, their domestic push was for Super Walmarts and getting rid of the older, smaller department store model.

Switching to the hypermarket model, Walmart's grocery division in the last 20 years became the grocery store of the US and it's really not even close.

1 in 4 dollars spent on groceries happens inside Walmart's grocery division. The default response is 'Yeah, inside Walmart' and no, for groceries specifically, in their grocery sections and neighborhood market grocery areas, just like most supermarkets.

https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-grocery-sales-us-compared-kroger-albertsons-2024-3

Kroger, a massive grocer in their own right who owns a pile of regional grocery chains, is a distant second at about 1 in 8 grocery dollars and that's with owning roughly 20 regional brands.

https://www.kroger.com/i/kroger-family-of-companies

So I would argue that Walmart has tilted this to be a true hypermarket where they combine both grocery and department and both are equally as vital to their business.

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No_Consideration_339@reddit

Walmart is NOT middle class. It's working class.

Target is middle class, or aspires to be.

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Saltpork545@reddit

Everyone who isn't living on investments is 'working class', even doctors and lawyers. They require their jobs to pay things like their mortgage or rent or car payment. They aren't living on the dividends of investment or generational wealth.

Middle class is basically entirely working class, upper and lower. Walmart caters to middle class and lower class.

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KevrobLurker@reddit

Hardly anybody in the US identifies as working class. Many working families† aspire to be middle class.

† What is probably our largest lefty party uses that name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_Families_Party

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0utlaw-t0rn@reddit

Also because of their focus on cheap prices, they tend to carry lower end brands (not exclusively though), the place can feel a little cramped despite being massive, the decor and “look” is minimalistic, and the shelves can be somewhat messy. While they get a cross section of America, the customers tend to to skew to lower income levels

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urfriendflicka@reddit

The aisle feel way too narrow. Especially when it's busy. Walmart actually gives me anxiety due to being claustrophobic and having particular issues with being in a slow moving/unmoving crowd, and I can only go in the middle of the day in the middle of the week. I miss the pre-Covid 24 hr Walmarts. I'm a night owl naturally and the stores were always virtually empty at midnight.

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ProfessorrFate@reddit

Agree — very much like Carrefour. However, Walmart stores are not as clean and well maintained: floors dirtier, car park/parking lot probably has litter, shelves often not as orderly. Also, many self-checkout lanes but few employee-staffed checkouts. In order to keep costs low and thus to maximize profits, Walmart scrimps on labor costs (ie employee work hours) and their stores are often a bit of a mess.

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Calor777@reddit

Sometimes my friend group jokingly pronounces Target with a French accent (similar to tarjay) because of how it's viewed as a bit more upscale than Walmart.

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cameronpark89@reddit

a large convenience store. accessible and affordable.

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Abedwarsfan@reddit

its a huge store with everything but not much interesting about it

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safarifriendliness@reddit

If I need to kill some time and I’m near a Walmart I’ll always convince myself I can kill a good amount of time looking around there but then I spend two minutes inside and realize it’s the same exact stuff the last Walmart I was at had

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Jdornigan@reddit

The more rural ones have more hunting and camping things, if you need that type of thing. The tools and higher theft items also tend to not be locked up.

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awoloozlefinch@reddit

You can learn a lot about a place by what’s in their Walmart.

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Newmillstream@reddit

It’s not interesting to many Americans because we are used to it, and there are competitors that have similar layouts. However from a global perspective, I would say it is somewhat anomalous, even compared to many foreign hypermarket brands. You very rarely see stores that sell graphics cards, television sets, fresh produce, DSLR cameras, sporting goods, diary, clothes, small appliances like microwaves, books, healthcare, home improvement supplies, hunting gear, and automotive equipment, frequently with a bank, fast food, eye doctor, hair salon, etc under one roof at competitive prices

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

When we’ve had Canadian family come down or visitors from France, we usually take them to Vegas, and they always seem to want to go to Walmart to see the firearms counter and the ammunition. (Which is weird from the family because Canadian Tire sells ammo…)

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Jdornigan@reddit

Are there still Walmart locations that sell firearms? All I see are boxes of BB guns and air rifles at my local stores and an empty display case where long guns used to be.

I know they got rid of handgun ammo but they do still shotgun and rifle ammo.

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Capital-Yogurt6148@reddit

I’m in Arizona. Walmart definitely sells guns here.

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Apprehensive-Pop-201@reddit

Arkansas, here, they sell firearms here and in OK Walmarts.

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

Depends on the state. But where they do it’s basically .22s, shotties, and a couple deer rifles. Walmart stopped selling handguns in 2019.

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balthisar@reddit

Not to mention that they have Walmart in Canada, and Canadian Tire is much more interesting store! I wish we had some.

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Opticians and fast food places in shops aren't surprising... But there's hair salons in your Walmarts?

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YDanSan@reddit

To add a little more context, at most of the Walmarts ive been to on the West Coast, theres usually like 3-4 extra businesses inside of any given WalMart, but one of the businesses will definitely be some sort of fast food restaurant or Cafe (it's often McDonalds around here). There's a bunch of types of businesses that could take up the other spaces, but those can vary a bit from store to store. I think my closest one just has a McDonalds and two other places for eyeglasses and nails, but ive also seen ones with tax places, salons/barbershops, banks, etc.

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RTR7105@reddit

It's Subway in the mid South. And the hair care is a Walmart owned franchise.

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hail_to_the_beef@reddit

This concept of stores within a store was really popular in the 90s. I remember our grocery store had a video rental shop and a bank in it. These days now it’s always a Starbucks.

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Warren_Puffitt@reddit

Hearing aid shops.

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tearsonurcheek@reddit

What?

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paxrom2@reddit

Build a bear, a bank and an optician

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Built a bear? Can't tell if you're pulling my leg. Your shopping centres must be massive if Walmart has all that already.

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QuercusSambucus@reddit

The Walmart IS the shopping center.

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paxrom2@reddit

No, regular size

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CashMoneyWinston@reddit

In some Walmarts, you could get your groceries + buy a TV + some new clothes/shoes + fill your prescriptions + get your hair/nails done + buy a shotgun, and then get some Subway for lunch on the way out.

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Detonation@reddit

The one in my town has a pharmacy, a vision center, a Subway, a phone provider, an auto center and an arcade. The hair salon was there too until a couple years ago when it got shut down.

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Bashira42@reddit

Yep! Although the hair salons around here closed. Last time I went the woman cutting my hair was awesome. Did a great job, had good advice for my hair type. Hope she found a good gig when it closed! I'd only had her cut my hair once but was planning to return. Now, they could also be pretty bad, would depend on the location/person

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Theyallknowme@reddit

Yep! Even dog sitting places. The one in a town I used to live in had a pet daycare in it.

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Lower_Neck_1432@reddit

Yes. Mine has a Subway, Hair Salon, Phone repair and a branch of a bank.

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Unhappy_Performer538@reddit

There’s hair salons in stores in many places.

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lyralady@reddit

Sometimes even medical testing labs are inside. I get a discount on my work insurance for the year if I get a blood draw and my cholesterol levels checked and this year i did mine at the quest lab diagnostics inside a Walmart.

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RickySlayer9@reddit

Some yeah.

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No-Ice5978@reddit

Lash studios and nail salons also.

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SpasticSparrow337@reddit

At many of them, yes.

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Ddude147@reddit

Not to mention the mobile app, and their entire online presence, is refined to the T. They have damn-near everything, and they go the extra mile to get it to you fast, whether it be delivery, or pick-up at the back of the store. Recently, Zipline was introduced for my Walmart < 1 mile away. I've already ordered five drone deliveries. The stuff literally comes in \~ 20 minutes. The drone hovers at 300 feet, drops a line with the package 10 feet away from my front door. The damn thing calibrates for wind.

Walmart is not yet at the same level as Amazon, but they're trying. And succeeding.

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GreenBeanTM@reddit

Their online presence really isn’t refined to a T. My family learned long ago that if it’s not being sold by Walmart than don’t buy it on their website

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rutherfraud1876@reddit

Haha I always shoot those down, sheriff says it's fine if they're in my airspace

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MaeClementine@reddit

20 minutes! That’s wild. What’s the fee for that?

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Ddude147@reddit

It's free as long as I spend $5. I also have a W+ subscription, but I don't know if that factors in.

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Jdornigan@reddit

I don't forsee that coming to my nearest Walmarts, both are in the flight path of a major airport. One of them has the planes so low that you can read the airline name on the planes that are landing.

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HeyPurityItsMeAgain@reddit

Ooooh. We do not yet have drone delivery. I won't be able to resist.

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Travelsat150@reddit

Target?

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lemonprincess23@reddit

Talked to an Australia guy once and I was like “yeah I’ll be right back. Gotta go get some groceries, and pick up some motor oil and pick up my prescription” and it took so long to convince him that “no I’m not going to three separate places for this”

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Nottacod@reddit

You left out the bank.

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Bodine12@reddit

r/PeopleOfWalmart would like to have a word with you

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tarheel_204@reddit

That and it’s a good place to people watch (hence the “people of Walmart” jokes).

Grew up in a small town where we didn’t have much… but we did have a Walmart. You’d see all walks of life in there.

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wairua_907@reddit

Most interesting would maybe be the people . I remember there was a site “people of Walmart” and there was some crazy stuff .

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FoolhardyBastard@reddit

This about sums it up. Generally lower quality everything as well. “Wal-mart brand” is generally used to refer to things that will inevitably break after a few uses.

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RaeWineLover@reddit

I think it depends on what it is, I get the walmart brand on groceries all the time.

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Extreme-Flan3935@reddit

Isn’t Walmart kind of a lower-quality Target?

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buffilosoljah42o@reddit

When i was a kid, we'd call the Walmart skate boards "Walmart fall apart" boards.

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suzemagooey@reddit

Maybe some interesting people. On second thought, nah.

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soupdawg@reddit

Wrong. Imagine the worst people in your city. That’s who is at Walmart.

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Ddude147@reddit

Idk what the eff you're talking about. They have all sorts of upscale grocery items, my focus. You want some European butter, the high butterfat stuff? A consequence of higher grocery prices is that more people "of means," such as myself, are shopping there to save some dough. And they're responding by adding products that people like me want to buy.

Yes, there are women who show their entire asses. What do you expect, a Kentucky Derby clientele?

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soupdawg@reddit

I didn’t say they did not have groceries. I’m saying that you will almost certainly run into some of the trashiest people in the city at the local Walmart.

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Next-Bit883@reddit

And Target, Kroger, Aldi, Publix, etc. Trashy is everywhere.

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Ok_Benefit7428@reddit

I would have said this back when I lived in Alabama. Now, living in Colorado, I'm exponentially more likely to run into trashy people at Walmart than any other store. It's like a higher ratio of normal seeming people shop at Walmart in the south than they do out here. Here the normals go to target 😅

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soupdawg@reddit

Reading comprehension seems to not be a strong skill on this subreddit.

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eyetracker@reddit

You can get all the julep fixings though, at least if your state lets them sell booze.

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Ddude147@reddit

Unfortunately, all the liquor in Texas is controlled by a monopoly of families. No Walmart.

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

Meanwhile in California, you can buy beer, wine, and hard liquor in just about every grocery store, including Walmart.

Something something freedom [eagle screech].

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bluerog@reddit

Walmart is "civilization" when you're rural. There's a certain kind of person who won't go to Walmart to get the EXACT products you'll find priced 10% and 40% higher at a different corporate grocery store or hardware store.

You people deserve to have your money taken... Just so you can be around "better" people.

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D-Rich-88@reddit

Sometimes the shoppers are pretty interesting, though

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AnnieCamOG@reddit

If by "interesting" you mean "horrifying", I quite agree.

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Jdornigan@reddit

Except the "people of Walmart". So many unique fashion choices.

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HoyAIAG@reddit

The people of Walmart are usually pretty interesting

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NotBradPitt9@reddit

I believe the Butt stuff section is interesting

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Winter-Warlock8954@reddit

Walmart is a store I always drop $300 in and wonder why, when I literally only came in for two things. Stay out of Walmart!

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InvestigatorJaded261@reddit

A big supermarket/big box store in another country is always a fascinating experience to visitors, but baffling to natives. I’m a huge fan of Monoprix when I’m in France, which French people (understandably!) find kind of baffling.

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Ok_Entrepreneur_8509@reddit

There is an aura of misery that hits you as soon as you walk in. Nobody wants to be there. Not the employees. Not the shoppers. Especially not the screaming kids.

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Skippeo@reddit

That isn't necessarily universal. Both of the ones near me give off a pretty normal vibe and the people who work there are reasonably helpful. It's nothing like the final days of K-Mart, which made me actively melancholy when I went in there.

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phishtrader@reddit

Depends on the time of day.

Go to Walmart on a Tuesday at 9 AM, probably boring.

10 AM on a Saturday? It's going to be annoying.

2 AM on a Sunday? It's going to be weird.

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RTR7105@reddit

Most haven't been open 247 since Covid.

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Skippeo@reddit

True story. They're a lot less weird now that many of them close at night instead of staying open all night though.

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aksf16@reddit

Yep, which is why I haven't stepped foot in one for 20 years.

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ThankedRapier4@reddit

Nailed it.

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TankDestroyerSarg@reddit

Think of Walmart like your own local market, just stretched and filled to the size of a large warehouse and check out is almost exclusively self done. It's pretty all-in-one, with grocery, pharmacy, sporting goods, home improvement and gardening, etc.

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lewisfairchild@reddit

Nothing fancy.

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xampl9@reddit

Bring your walking shoes. The typical Walmart Supercenter is 0.02 square kilometers.

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OK_Stop_Already@reddit

its big and overwhelming. Too much stuff, but somehow not as much variety as you'd like. At least that's how my wal-mart is.

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grunkle_dan78@reddit

A wretched hive of scum and villainy

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Filled_with_Nachos@reddit

I’ve lived in Maryland most my life but spent college and some time in my 20s in South Carolina. Southern Walmarts are better. It’s like they’re the main show in town and are generally less trashy. Walmarts here in MD are disheveled, unclean and sometimes feel unsafe. I pay 10% more at Target to not have to go to Walmart.

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sean8877@reddit

I live in the south, most of the Walmarts near us are disheveled, unclean and unsafe.

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SuLiaodai@reddit

Our stereotype, I'd say, is poor and scary. They often contribute to poverty. After a Walmart comes to town the local mom and pop (family run) stores all close because Walmart deliberately sells stuff really cheap when they first open the store. Then in about a year, the town is poorer than before because local businesses shut down, and now they're the only place to buy anything.

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Damn. That's a shame.

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clarkesanders1000@reddit

Jumping in here, since most of the other comments are very positive. Manufactures make cheaper, lower quality versions of their products to sell to Walmart, because Walmart continually demands lower and lower prices from its suppliers. This often leads to an unsustainable situation for the suppliers, and they are forced to bankruptcy. I know this because I used to work at a small local factory making products for Walmart and others.

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Shot-Artichoke-4106@reddit

And to make things worse, Walmart doesn't pay employees very well, so even if it creates jobs in an area, the people usually don't make enough to live on, so they have to supplement with government services. Meanwhile, Walmart as a company makes a lot of money - funneling profits up to the top and out to shareholders, but away from the local area.

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orcas-@reddit

This is it

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Pitiable-Crescendo@reddit

It's depressing.

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2r1t@reddit

If you need a spatula, foot powder, a football, propane for your camping stove, an air filter for your car, school supplies, knitting supplies, a hot glue gun, a new TV, a DVD of Cool Runnings, a cheap pair of shoes, track pants, diapers for baby, and all your grocery shopping for the week, Walmart is your one stop. And while you do that, you can bring one person to get an eye exam and new glasses and another to get a hair cut while you shop and the car gets new tires and an oil change.

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Similar to a shopping centre/mall but shoved in one shop, then.

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RainRepresentative11@reddit

Yeah. It’s not the only one. Target at Meijer are similar.

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Wafflebot17@reddit

That’s pretty much what Walmart is, they have everything. It’s convenient, but other than that there’s nothing special about it.

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FivebyFive@reddit

Yep. But less separated.

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maxman1313@reddit

Walmarts (and other big box stores) functionally replaced downtown shopping districts in many areas.

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Bizness_boi@reddit

Depressing.

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MyUsername2459@reddit

It's a really big store that has just about everything in it. It's got a full supermarket (although with a reputation for lower-quality goods), clothing, automotive supplies, hardware/home improvement and landscaping/yard care goods, home goods, electronics, toys, sporting goods, a pharmacy. . .and most usually have some booths at the front of the store with places like a bank, Subway sandwich shop, barber shop, or optician on-site (but technically not part of the Walmart).

It's fairly austere in there, definitely not spending a lot of money making the place look good. It has a rather spartan, minimalist feel a lot of the time.

As for class associations. . .it's definitely associated with what the British would call "Working Class", it's NOT known for being a place where affluent people shop, if they can afford it. Ultimately just about everyone shops at Walmart sometimes, but it's definitely associated with poorer people.

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Gaming_with_batman@reddit

Its a large general goods store selling electronics, clothes, toiletries, sometimes groceries, medical supplies, sporting goods (which in America also includes guns!!!!!! But they are lame and only have “hunting rifles and shotguns” even though the only difference between the other ones is the color and some ergonomic differences. Modern firearm stances are so stupid)

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El_Culero_Magnifico@reddit

Walmart is a giant store, with unhappy , underpaid employees- many of whom rely on public assistance just to get by. The store features a lot of cheap, Chinese crap.

The one fairly interesting aspect of the store is the clientele. You will see shit that will blow your mind, in a depressing sort of way.

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Responder343@reddit

peoplepofwalmart.com

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Pwaise_Hestia@reddit

Omg once I went to a huge primark and thought it was kinda like walmart.

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Now I wonder if Waltmart has the same nausea inducing air as Primark.

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FalseCreme@reddit

We've got a Primark in NC now and my mom loves it. I can confirm that something is wrong with the air quality in there.

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ShinyAppleScoop@reddit

There are a ton of YouTube videos of Brits visiting Walmart the first time. I think that's a good place to start.

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1-Mafioso-1@reddit

A place you avoid

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Roadshell@reddit

It's a large department store that tends to have messy picked over displays and is known to cater to a clientele that is... uh... not upscale.

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alexthagreat98@reddit

My local Walmart in a small town just got "upgraded" to appear more bougie like a Target. I hate it. I walk around wondering if they're going to serve caviar next.

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skadi_shev@reddit

If they didn’t raise the prices, why not just enjoy it?

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alexthagreat98@reddit

Not so much about prices as effectiveness of design and how they organized everything for the modern displays. Because they moved the shampoo with the makeup , far away from the body wash and other toiletries. They split the Homegoods items to opposite sides of the store (paper towels, laundry detergent one end and then hand soap on the other for example) and the refurb includes a bunch of U shaped aisles that you go down and have to turn around instead of being able to snake through like traditional aisles.

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skadi_shev@reddit

I didn’t downvote you, by the way haha

My Walmart was recently rearranged in a way that makes no sense and is infuriating, but they also didn’t make it feel “fancier” in the process.

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alexthagreat98@reddit

I can settle for the fancy if they arrange things to make sense. For example, there is a gigantic expensive crib on display with a stroller with the fancy lights. Why not put the hand soap there since the detergent is right there? I live in a town where people make $12/hr. I just dont think it makes sense. I am sorry your Walmart re-arranged things too.

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skadi_shev@reddit

Yes. Near me it tends to be dirty/dingy and disorganized. They have everything but the brands are generally very low quality

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brandoldme@reddit

I can't even imagine what you're talking about. People always put on their best duds to go to my Walmart.

They break out the fancy pajamas to go shopping.

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lemonprincess23@reddit

As someone who worked overnights at Walmart I was genuinely just happy when they had pants and a shirt

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StillyMcDaniels@reddit

Debra?

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DustyComstock@reddit

Oh, the cookie monster pajamas?

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Ddude147@reddit

Google is walmart going upscale. Answer:
Walmart is aggressively moving upscale to attract higher-income shoppers, investing over $9 billion to remodel over 1,400 stores with modernized, spacious layouts and launching premium, curated private-label brands like "Bettergoods". The strategy focuses on enhanced apparel, elevated home displays, and improved food options, including fresh sushi and premium international items.

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lotusbloom74@reddit

It seems they have really stepped up online ordering too, and have been pushing Walmart+. They are trying to compete with Amazon and seems like generally it’s going pretty well for them

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Mediocre_Length_9526@reddit

I have Walmart+ and Amazon Prime. I use Walmart+ more than I use Prime.

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PantherkittySoftware@reddit

It depends on where the Walmart is. A Super Walmart in a wealthy new suburban area in Florida feels very different than a small Walmart in a poor area.

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balthisar@reddit

The best Walmarts are in Mexico. I’m not joking. They’re clean, have well-paid employees by local standards, and have real butcher counters and bakeries.

They used to have a low end version called Bodega Aurrera, a step down!

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Effective-Scratch673@reddit

To be fair Bodega Aurerra was not a Walmart thing, they just bought it when they got into the Mexican market.

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Individual_Check_442@reddit

I’d agree there’s typically not a lot of elitists there.

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One-Scallion-9513@reddit

it's cheapish for a reason

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Ok-Possibility-9826@reddit

It’s just an ordinary store for buying your every day needs, really. Some have a grocery department.

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Cant-think-of-a-nam@reddit

To me its just s big ass super market. Nothing really interesting to me but i can see how it can be interesting to someone not from here

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WhereNextCols@reddit

A Walmart will be similar to the larger Tescos.

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drnewcomb@reddit

It depends on the area. Some Walmarts are pretty pleasant. Others, you expect narration by David Attenborough because there are species you'd only see in a National Geographic program.

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Better-Credit6701@reddit

I live in the county that Walmart was founded and live a few blocks from the original store back in 1962. Because of the headquarters, we will often have people from all over the world tour the stores especially store number one (they are all numbered in order they opened).

Because they are often visited by C level management, they will be spotless and well stocked. Some even have liquor stores with some impressive stuff like a $600 bottle of wine or their own brand of vodka that tastes like it was made in old oil drums.

I will stop by the nearby neighborhood Walmart nearly daily and be in and out in just a few minutes. If I have to go to the super store, they have pretty much all household items and garden stuff but yeah, some of it can be the cheapest crap you could find but there will be a variety of crap to choose from

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Siege_LL@reddit

It's like K-Mart but bigger. It's what K-Mart might have become if they'd survived.

As far as product selection goes they're very wide but with little depth. They sell lots of different stuff but it's just the basics. You can find general every day goods there but if you need something more specialized you're going to have to find a store that's dedicated to your need. By including products from many different fields they can appeal to a wider variety of people. It helps pull people into the store but they don't have the dedicated space to offer more than a basic selection.

Like office or crafting supplies. Sure they have the basics but Staples or Michaels will carry a much larger selection. If I need markers or tape or shipping boxes? Yeah I can get that at Walmart but Staples will have that plus a lot of other office stuff that Walmart doesn't have the space to carry. Walmart sells toys but the selection is laughable compared to something like a Toys 'R Us.

TLDR; It's a giant store for poorer people to shop at. They offer substandard goods at cheap prices and drive out local businesses who can't compete with their pricing. They subsidize their payroll through taxpayer funded programs like welfare and government healthcare so they can increase their profits and offer those cheap prices. They are ruination.

But they're also very convenient and Americans are all about convenience. Especially when big business making record profits every year don't kick any of that money back to their employees in the form of pay raises or benefits. It is the model of modern capitalism and it's everything wrong with it.

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IllustriousRanger934@reddit

Imagine Tesco or Asda, but bigger, and offers more than just groceries. Tires for your car, skate boards, fishing gear, home improvement, beauty, pharmacy, clothing etc.

Walmart has a stranglehold on American supermarkets and has some of the cheapest pricing. Because they are literally everywhere, and they’re cheap, they attract all kinds of characters. Thats why you hear about “people of Walmart,” it’s just making fun of poor people. If you go to a poor rural part of the country and go into a Walmart of course you’ll find all kinds of people.

Personally, I absolutely despise Walmart. I will pay more at a higher end grocery store just so I don’t have to deal with the crowds or people at my closest walmart. In a city of less than 90k there are 4 Walmart superstores and 1 Walmart neighborhood market within 20 minutes of me. I think most people who can afford other grocery stores are similar to me.

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jacowab@reddit

It's pretty normal for us but it's basically just supposed to be a single location where you can do all your shopping. If you want to buy baseball cards, get a tire changed on your car, buy a tree, buy groceries, get a computer, get some new shoes, buy a gun, buy a bicycle, buy a wardrobe, buy a custom made birthday cake, and grab some hot food to eat you can get it all at Walmart. (Its also very cheap but the price usually matches the quality)

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ForestOranges@reddit

I went to a Sanisbury’s in a town about an hour outside Central London and it was like a scaled down Walmart. They had groceries, candy, clothes, health and beauty products. I don’t remember seeing any automotive products or home repair type stuff though and at a Walmart you would.

You can buy a car battery at Walmart while you shop for your groceries, get some new clothes, etc. Some of them have restaurants inside (Subway, McDonald’s other fast food, etc.) Some have nail or hair salons inside. Others have banks inside. A Walmart I used to go to in Mexico have a Chinese restaurant inside.

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Rojo37x@reddit

It is a big store that carries many different types of products and generally offers them at a good price. That said, it's not a particularly fun or exciting shopping experience. In fact, whenever I am there I feel a certain sense of unhappiness there. It's hard to explain.

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567Anonymous@reddit

It is a huge store, that sells a lot of things. The vibe varies. In rural places, like Arkansas, it is just where everyone goes to shop. In more urban areas, it tends to be most frequented by lower income people. At least that is my experience, having family in Arkansas and living in a large East Coast metro area.

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Zatzbatz@reddit

Walmart used to be open 24 hours and so many people in America would go there to hang out at night because nothing else is open. It closes at midnight now.

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Lemon-Leaf-10@reddit

It’s a big store with everything. You can make a big shopping list and get everything all at once. Clothes, groceries, oil for your car, a TV, plants, art supplies, whatever you want. But it’s also exhausting and takes a lot of time, so I usually need a nap later.

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PiermontVillage@reddit

I only go to Walmart when I have no alternative. I use their app which directs me directly whatever I want to buy. It also tells me if the item is not available. I always go in with a list and try to never just wander around looking at stuff. Their AI does a pretty good job of keeping the selves stocked with items people want to buy and can afford. It’s a cold, cold, corporate place.

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HistoricalRow7933@reddit

Its the only place I can use the self checkout to buy my beer and shotgun shells

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Ok_Buy_9703@reddit

Some stuff is a lower price, but usually its a convienience because it has a little bit of everything. The grocery items are lowest tier in my opinion, veggies seem to be bland and go bad fast.

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tcrhs@reddit

It is an enormous store with everything you could possibly want or need. But, all those things are scattered around in places that don’t make sense. Need a tent? Not in the sports aisle. Try the automotive aisle. The oil for your car will be in Women’s clothing next to the lingerie.

Some people think it is okay to shop at Walmart stinky and looking unkept and sloppy. Some wear their pajamas, don’t brush their hair and forgot their false teeth. Others are dressed in the finest clothing money can buy like they’re going to a Michelin star restaurant and a Broadway play. One lady wears expensive Louboutin heels, another wears 20 year old ratty house shoes.

Need customer service help? It doesn’t exist. If you’re lucky, a sweet elderly employee will point you towards aisle 62. When what you need is in aisle 26. But, it’s actually in aisle 13.

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Teithiwr81@reddit

Not really like a regular Tesco that's mostly food - but similar to the big-ass Tesco/ASDA superstores - maybe 20% grocery, the rest is clothes, toys, pharmacy, electronics etc.

Fun fact - ASDA used to be owned by Walmart - at least one superstore had Walmart branding on the outside like 20+ years ago.

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ssk7882@reddit

It's pretty much just an Asda Supercentre.

The main thing Walmart was once known for was destroying small town America by driving all independent stores in rural areas out of business. Some places attempted to fend them off by passing laws in attempts to prevent Walmarts from being opened in their districts. Those attempts mainly failed, and now Walmart is the only shopping option for vast swaths of the US. To many people, Walmart stands for the enshittification of America, which is part of why it's so bizarre to us when foreigners view them as tourist attractions.

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Practical-Ordinary-6@reddit

It's literally just a store. It's a very low price discount store and that's what it's mainly known for. It's not known for high quality or fanciness or anything like that. It's just a cheap place to buy stuff. Because it's cheap it can be a good option for people who don't have much money. You can get some good stuff there but there's also lots of stuff there that's low quality. But it's so cheap it might be worth buying anyway -- maybe.

It seems like too many foreigners are fooled by the idea that because it's large it must be "grand". It's not grand. It's basic. If you want a grand experience you need to go somewhere else. If you want the top quality stuff you need to go somewhere else. If you want to be waited on or catered to like an important person you need to go somewhere else. It's simply a large store with many products and nothing more serious than that. Large does not mean good or important or fancy. Large is just large. It makes things more economical. When you sell a lot of stuff you can make a smaller profit on each item and still make money.

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houdini31@reddit

Wal-Mart has everything you could possibly need and much you could want! You can easily get lost in time at Wal-Mart.

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baalroo@reddit

Around here, the average ALDI could fit inside the produce department of the average Walmart.

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sandbagger45@reddit

Closest would be Asda for you.

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Bremerlo@reddit

Imagine if Tesco and Primark (Penneys) were combined into one big store that also sold craft supplies, tires, and sports equipment. That’s basically Walmart.

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holymacaroley@reddit

Big. Annoying. Busy most of the day. Has products on almost every category of consumer goods you can think of.

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Gloomy-Difference-51@reddit

It's just a regular store. You can get clothes, groceries, a laundry basket, toys, diapers, hygiene items, pet food, etc.

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jf737@reddit

Depends where you live. I’m always taken aback a bit when I visit areas of the country where the WalMart is the epicenter of the town. People get everything from WalMart. Including groceries.

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SteakAndIron@reddit

It's a huge store where you can buy ground beef and watermelon and a bicycle and a big screen television and a fishing rod and sex toys in the same store

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SteampunkRobin@reddit

It almost has everything in one store: clothing, baby stuff, toys, groceries, house cleaning items, pet food and items, medications (off the shelf and prescriptions), holiday decorations, lawn maintenance items, plants, pesticides, sports and camping equipment, guns, automotive services (including selling tires), car accessories and cleaning items, hair stylists and manicurists, a bank and atm, deli, restaurant, and more.

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Major_Enthusiasm1099@reddit

I worked there for 4.5 years. To be honest it's not a bad place to work. Pay was decent for me as a college student, super flexible with hours, and most managers were very understanding. I met some of the best people in my life while working there.

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Pauzhaan@reddit

Haven’t been there since they quit concentrating on American made goods. This happened when the founder died & his kids took the business over.

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Bored_Accountant999@reddit

It's really not that interesting. I can't stand the place and haven't been in one in many many years. Every time I've needed to go there and couldn't avoid it, I just felt dirty afterwards. I don't think their prices are that great either. I will gladly shop at a smaller, normal grocery store to avoid the hassle of going there.

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Anteater_Reasonable@reddit

Enormous, full of knock-off branded groceries and cheap junk, very harsh lighting, grumpy people, and you will get a new scratch or dent on your car every time you go there.

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Calm_Violinist5256@reddit

I've only been a few times but most of the stuff I got from there was super cheaply made. think- holes in clothes, lots of chemicals in the food. I bought an appliance (coffee maker) specifically made for Walmart and it was a POS and broke within a year.

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kludge6730@reddit

Have 2 Walmarts within 5 miles. One is a typical suburban super center with hair/nails, McDonalds, seasonal tax prep and optometrist. The other is one of the smaller footprint urban concept stores (less than 1/2 the size of a regular Walmart) that has no 3rd party services.

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manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit

If you're from the UK, Walmart is literally the same company as Asda.

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Had no clue. I've noticed that some Asda shops have opticians and fast food places inside but not much else besides the usual supermarket items.

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manicpixidreamgirl04@reddit

So I just looked into it, and it turns out they were the same company from 1999 until 2021, but aren't anymore.

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SoaokingGross@reddit

It’s hell. Until the moment a decent sized snowstorm begins. Then it’s empty and it’s amazing.

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ElectricalTwist4083@reddit

The wholesale shops are even wilder. Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s wholesale are the ones near me and they are excessive even for the U.S. they sell usually in large quantities and are huge even by our standards. Walmart is a pretty standard department store that has clothing, home accessories, tools, food, camping and sports supplies, and sometimes automotive and pet sections.

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TillikumWasFramed@reddit

Really huge, has virtually everything you would want to buy, but gives a very strong "meh" feeling and you can't wait to leave.

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Anubis-Hound@reddit

I just left Walmart and it fucking sucks it's a goddamn pvp server irl it's so hostile shopping there and I hate that it's the closest to my house so I end up going there a lot of the time but oh my gosh every time I leave that place it feels like escaping 'nam

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jsmith_92@reddit

Europe doesn’t have a store where you can buy one of everything to do with outdoors, sports, board games, food, clothes, bathing supplies all under the same roof?

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GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit

Don’t forget guns and ammo, tires for your trucks and a kayak.

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

Is that how a lot of people buy guns? Thought there'd just be a couple gun-specific shops per town there.

The more pressing questions... Are they behind a glass? Are they packaged in generic cardboard boxes?

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FivebyFive@reddit

I've never seen a Walmart with a gun section and I live in the deep south.

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

Depends on the state, but Walmart does sell guns and ammunition in many states. There are also outdoors/sporting goods stores with enormous firearms counters, like Bass Pro Shops or Turner’s Outdoorsman. And there are many independent gun dealers.

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beenoc@reddit

In addition to what the others have said, even Walmarts that sell guns don't have a tremendously wide selection or variety. It's generally a handful of basic hunting rifles and shotguns in the sporting goods section - you're not getting an AR-15, or a handgun, or anything like that that's meant for shooting anything other than a deer or duck, and only the 'basic' versions of that. Most people who own guns probably bought them at an actual gun store or proper sporting goods store.

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eyetracker@reddit

They're in a glass vertical display case. Basic .22 and deer rifle selection mostly, it's not much selection. But I can imagine it's useful if you're on a deer trip and realize hours later that you forgot something, and small town stores are all closed.

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reyadeyat@reddit

Around 50% of Walmarts do not sell guns. It's also kind-of regional based on where people tend to hunt. I've actually never been in a Walmart that sells guns.

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GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit

Some people buy guns there, a lot of people buy ammo there. There are a few gun stores in town and the next county over has a Bass Pro shop and they got guns, and there are a couple of traveling gun shows that come to the civic center to sell guns. Guns are behind glass, you can’t just pick up a box and take to the register. There is paperwork involved.

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chipsdad@reddit

Yes, Carrefour Hypermarkets, based in France and operating in some other European and international countries. Very similar coverage to a large Walmart. The brand also has smaller formats: traditional supermarkets and small supermarkets.

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StickaFORKinMyEye@reddit

I'd say that was more like USs Target rather than Walmart.

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StickaFORKinMyEye@reddit

Monoprix in Paris felt like Target with clothes, toiletries and groceries. But with a solid bakery.

I don't think any of the hypermarkets I've been to in Europe felt like a Walmart. Walmart always feels unpleasant.

Definitely not like an Aldi or Lidl, both of which we have in the US and are fairly similar here.

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Certain-Monitor5304@reddit

Fun fact Youtube was created in 2005.

It's similar to Costco without the bulk products.

Quality of service and cleanliness is inconsistent between store locations.

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_WillCAD_@reddit

Walmart is both amazing and horrifying.

It's a national chain of stores that carry mostly the same products everywhere. There are some regional differences in brands - for example, Utz brand potato chips are regional to the mid-Atlantic region, and cannot generally be found in other regions - but all Walmarts carry both the national products, and their own house-brand products. Thus, I can walk into a Walmart 3,000 miles away from home and buy the same Equate eye drops that I buy at home, or the same Equate canned peas, or the same Dr. Schools gel shoe inserts, or the same Fruit of the Loom t-shirt. All that is amazing to me.

Most Walmarts are laid out in a very similar fashion. There are a few differences here and there, some stores are mirror-images, about half the stores are supercenters and half are not, but mostly Walmart stores follow a few standard layouts, so it's easy to find what you want, even in a Walmart you've never set foot in before on the opposite side of the country.

Walmart stores all use the same decor - same paint colors, same shelving, same advertising material, same signage, same check-out equipment, same uniforms. Walmart stores all play the same audio content on the store speakers; it's called Walmart Radio, and plays music, advertisements, and interviews with Walmart employees from various stores around the country.

The uniformity in stock, appearance, layout, and procedures makes Walmart a familiar place no matter where you shop. I personally love that; if I'm traveling, I can always be certain I can get anything I need, from food to clothing to medication to camping gear, simply by finding a Walmart.

Management of individual stores varies a lot, however. I've been in Walmarts that were filthy, torn to pieces, and out of stock on even the most basic items, then driven twenty minutes to the next nearest location and found a brand-new looking, pristine, beautiful, shiny, fully-stocked gem. How a store is kept up and operated depends entirely how the store's management runs the place. Bad management equals bad store and unhappy employees; good management equals good store and happy employees.

The horrifying bit is that Walmart is notorious for under-paying their employees and treating them like disposable commodities.

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ThankedRapier4@reddit

As a millennial who grew up in the 90s, I think Walmart used to represent the concept of the most middle class shopping experience you could have, and the commercials used to be cheery with the big smiley face and the cowboy “Roll back” song about “rolling back” prices.

It became synonymous with “cheap,” and now, I basically use it as a last resort when I have to get something last minute that I need immediately, but I absolutely despise going into my local Walmart.

It’s just a giant, fluorescently-lit box that feels like a third world bazaar and is a reminder of how much my country has been sold out. None of the workers are American except the poor elderly volunteers who “greet” you at the door— when they’re even there— and they’re really there as some sort of token theft prevention just by the mere presence of having a human checking receipts on your way out, though God knows they’d never be able to stop a determined shoplifter.

And “the people of Walmart” meme is real. I think Walmart used to be a place where people of modest means but who had some sense of dignity got their everyday staples, but it is the haunt of the dregs of American society these days.

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ChemistRemote7182@reddit

My idea of Walmart is forever scarred by the very first one I went to as a child in North Brunswick, NJ. Dirty as fuck, with a broken PA system blaring messages in Spanish that could not be understood because the speakers were blown out. That was an especially bad one, some are decent, they even occasionally have a pretty good grocery section with fresh produce and decent quality meats.

Sam's Clubs (Walmart's warehouse-esque bulk purchasing store), despite having bare concrete floors and the most basic of displays, tend to be neater kept and more pleasant. Costco probably forced their hand in a way Target hasn't been able to for the main stores.

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TheJokersChild@reddit

Lidl and Aldi are only grocery stores here (and Lidl barely exists in most areas) while a lot, not all, of Walmarts are half grocery store/half department store. And the department store half ain't exactly Harrods. It is a very ordinary experience to most of us. Target is perceived as a little more upscale but still the kind of place you go only if you need a couple new shirts or a quick USB hub.

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skaliton@reddit

so imagine aldi as the starting point. Now add a pharmacy to it, a nursery, and an electronics store. we are close now.

basically you can do all of your errands and shopping at one place. No it isn't some magical place

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Main-Ad3654@reddit

There’s a ton of videos on YouTube of British and Australian tourists who visit Walmart for the first time and are completely in awe. It seems like it is especially popular with parks visitors in the Orlando area. They not only pick up food and drinks for their trip, but also stuff to take home like laundry detergent, toys, etc. more often than not they are impressed with the sheer size of the store and the variety of items available.

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PlaysTheTriangle@reddit

They have nearly everything, but you can’t find anything. If you manage to see an employee and they see you looking for help, they’re running. The produce dies the minute you bring it home, the lines are long, the employees are completely fed up with everything and the customers can be obnoxious and rude.

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edelmav@reddit

it's like if Lidl, Aldi, Rewe, and Ikea were all rolled into one

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JoePNW2@reddit

The rage bait videos are filmed at Walmarts in rougher, lower-income areas. Walmarts exist in middle class-to-affluent areas now as well, and the vibe at those reflect where they're located.

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hornbuckle56@reddit

Very very very individual store dependent. Some clean and nice and some terrible.

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Sufficient_Cod1948@reddit

It's just a store.

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RoundaboutRecords@reddit

In college, my suite had an Italian exchange student for the year. He discovered Walmart and it was over for him. This was when they sold legit Levi’s and cigarettes. Guy bought as many pairs of jeans as he could carry, plus what looked like a pallet worth of cigarettes. He shipped them back to Italy where his family owed a club. Made a killing there on American cigarette sales and black market Jeans. This was before online marketplaces popped up as well.

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Initial_Fill_2655@reddit

Where I live you can count on shoppers walking around with guns in holsters. There are always police and police cars. There are kids riding bikes in aides and teens groups lounging on furniture for sale. The aisles are congested with pallets of stuff. There is always music with vocals along with adds playing. You can count on someone yelling at a child and kids playing catch and trying out bikes along with stuffed animals on floors. There are lots of helpers talking with each other who will try to help if you ask. There are workers filling orders for pick-up. Someone can check inventory and location of an item but it is often not accurate. So many things are locked up from electric shavers to perfumes to shavers. There are 2 main entrances with others like automotive and gardening but when they are usable differs. The hours vary in departments- customer service may close before the store does, the pharmacy has different hours and so does automotive, deli and bakery. Departments will page you but it can be difficult to hear. The store used to be 24 jour but is mostly 8 to 11. There are bargains but often, for example, food is overpriced. Pricing may be per ounce, per liter or per item making it difficult to compare. Every department has pictures and sonetimes digitalized voices of famous people saying how wonderful this or that product is. I primarily go there for some of my prescriptions when they are not available at a Meijer store. I gave up on CVS and Walgreens. The pharmacy workers are always helpful in finding the best price (closed for 1/2 hour lunch).

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VixxenFoxx@reddit

I havnt been inside a Walmart for exactly 19 years this month. So I can't tell you.

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Listen-to-Mom@reddit

I’ve find rural Walmarts pretty clean and nice. Suburban ones are filthy with merchandise tossed everywhere. I have to mentally prepare to go to a nearby suburban Walmart to just grab a few things because I know it’s going to be a frustrating experience.

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Charming_Bobcat_2613@reddit

Honestly everyone shops at Walmart. You’ll see everyone you know because they have literally everything readily available at a decently low price. We all make jokes about the people you see at Walmart but we all shop there anyways. It’s almost unavoidable.

It’s impressive when you think about it and the logistics that go into keeping a Walmart stocked, but so common that there’s nothing very special about it.

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AroaceAthiest@reddit

Comparing Walmart to Disneyland:

I would say that going to Walmart is nothing like going to Disneyland (I've only been to Disney World, but I assume it's similar enough to Disneyland). The experience is pretty much the same I had shopping at Tesco when I lived in China.

The place that seemed most like an amusement park to me is IKEA (only been to ones in China). I loved shopping at IKEA!

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Hour_Mall_1746@reddit

Walmart is the most overstimulating place on the planet sometimes. The workers generally aren't paid well and it's often overcrowded with the worst, rudest, most socially unaware dumb people in your town just blocking everything you need or trying to run you over with a buggy. The bathrooms are always disgusting, half the groceries you need ain't stocked, and there's always a dirty warehouse smell mixed with like a sour people smell as soon as you walk in. You'll encounter the most unhygienic, slouchy people in your town there. Young people often frequent Walmarts just to dick around and them and other customers have a habit of misplacing merchandise all over the store contributing to a general vibe of chaos. Walmart in many ways replaced the shopping mall or town markets as a third space but in the worst way possible.

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Adventurous-Chef8776@reddit

There's Walmart and there's Sam's Club. Sam's club is like Costco you have to pay for a membership.

I like Target better.

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Intelligent_Pop1173@reddit

It’s just a huge store haha I used to like buying video games there because they would be a few dollars cheaper.

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79215185-1feb-44c6@reddit

A big thing I want to mention here to answer one smaller part of your question is about the classism of retail. I would argue that it exists, that Walmart isn't necessarily classist by nature (it's the "every man" store), but there's an important thing to understand that retail has largely been replaced by online ordering and that Amazon is by and large the new "Walmart" for anything but groceries for the majority of people (the whole online grocery debate is a weird one that I won't touch).

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AppropriateDark5189@reddit

The best part about Walmart is people watching. Stay there long enough and you will see just about every aspect of human nature has come up with.

I stop in about once a week because the bread (we like thick sliced bread) and yogurt (she has a certain one she likes best) my wife likes is at least a dollar cheaper than the regular grocery store and it's convenient to where I work.

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Liliya1365@reddit

I used to work at Walmart around a year ago, and it was good. I had good management, friendly coworkers, and good pay. I had to stop after a year because I was also studying at a community college at the time and struggled to balance work and school. I live in a very small town, so it’s a good source of entertainment because I get to talk to people I’ve known for a while, look at the movie section, and look at the sweets at the bakery

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PlanMagnet38@reddit

Walmart is the opposite vibe from Aldi. I love that my Aldi is small with limited selection. The Walmart is huge and overwhelming and, at least where I live, kind of grungy with rude people

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ThisIsATastyBurgerr@reddit

as a kid Walmart is fun to run away from your parents and get lost in. you only really get lost sprinting through the labyrinth to find the toy section. Walmarts toy section has all kinds of loose toys and balls, mostly basic toys and sports equipment. as an adult i know walmart usually only carries the cheapest of its kind items, plus generic brands like Lego and Barbie.

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river-running@reddit

I'm sure it's interesting for people who aren't used to seeing such a wide variety of products in one place and because of the usual abundance of product variety found in this country in general, but otherwise it's just a store. Very convenient, because so much is in one place, and it's generally reasonably priced, but I think the novelty would wear off pretty quick.

When I think about interesting and fun stores I tend to picture Bass Pro Shop or Jungle Jim's rather than Wallyworld.

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ExtremeExtension9@reddit

People here keep saying it filled with the “poor” and it’s trashy. I find it has the same sort of clientele as ASDA in a solid working class town. The food is just average sort of food you find in ASDA or Tesco. You know, crisps, cereal, canned stuff. All the same , even same brands. Though I find English supermarkets have better fresh food in general. I find a better selection of fresh food in ASDA than I find in the nicest supermarket in the USA. The selection of dry good foods is huge, stupidly huge. However, I always think that in the US you have a huge selection of a little but in the U.K. you have a small selection of a lot. Cheese is a good example. They have a huge aisle of cheese. But it all breaks down to just 4 different styles of cheese but in a huge variety of brands and sizes. In the U.K. there is a large variety of cheese but only take up half an aisle. Lots of different cheeses but only a couple of brands and a couple of sizes. ( France on the other hand is silly with cheese. Half the supermarket is cheese) same with bread. Massive aisle. But just white, wheat, soda and something else. No real huge variety but I’m sure a 100 different brands.

Then it’s like someone has stuck a Primark, a Wilkinsons (RIP), a Halfords, a McDonald’s and a garden center on to it and stuck it all under one roof. Add a small DiY section, maybe a gun section if you are in one of those states and boom you have a Walmart.

I’m sure the internet presents some of the wildest side of Walmart but I regularly go there and it’s I have seen anything particularly noteworthy yet. Though a visiting American relative did once tell me that my Walmart is “fancy.” But literally same vibe as ASDA in working class town, maybe on a Friday night when the day shifts all end.

I like Walmart, it’s stupidly convenient. I like being able to buy bread, some car tyres, a sofa and a gun and a nice potted plant in a one stop shop.

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Per_sephone_@reddit

What did you like about Walmart?

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

No clue. It's a large store chain that sells things but those are in most places.

Maybe I watched too many 24 hours in Walmart videos.

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recoveringcanuck@reddit

If it makes you feel better when I moved from canada to the states I was super impressed by walmart. They have everything, just the sheer size of american grocery stores in general was impressive. I haven't lived in canada since 1992 so maybe it's not different anymore but it was crazy to 12 year old me. Not to mention actual shotguns for sale, at the same place the sells cereal and has soda vending machines that were about half the price I expected.

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StillyMcDaniels@reddit

There are numerous Walmarts in Canada since the 90s. It’s typically even our first stop across the border on road trips for cash, snacks, etc. all in one location.

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MakeStupidHurtAgain@reddit

Grocery stores in Canada have been expanding. Superstore is huge. Actually… if Superstore and Canadian Tire got smashed together it would be Walmart.

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Professional-Front58@reddit

In terms of “class association” Walmart has a low class to lower middle class vibe to it, while it’s direct competitor, Target, has a more middle class, suburbia feel despite both stores offering the same product ranges (there are people who are aware of this weird branding between the two stores and will often mockingly pronounce Target with a faux French pronunciation of Tar-ZHEY rather than the store’s actual used pronunciation of TAR-get, to give a more upscale boutique image. It’s not uncommon to see a Wal Mart and a Target within line of sight of each other (there are at least two locations in my area where both stores are across the street from each other and would cater to the same socioeconomic community.).

In terms of offerings they are nearly identical, with Walmart having a better range of products and services (especially auto care, home improvement, and home gardening) while target has better clothing and home furnishings (furniture, bed sheets, pillows, cookware). The grocery offerings are identical, but a Wal-Mart super center has more functional Grocery Stores than just dry goods and produce sections. As a general rule, Super-centers tend to get built in more Rural markets than Suburbs and Urban areas (Walmart is virtually non-existent in Urban communities leaving Target to be the Big Box Store for city folk. This is mostly due to Walmarts preference to build their buildings for a new store over Targets ability to adapt their layouts to fit the space constraints. Overall Walmarts have a more cluttered and chaotic “look at all this stuff we can sell you” feel, while target is more orderly but has less stuff, but with more quality to it.).

As an American, I’m always amused by European’s fascination with Walmart, to the point of going to one as a tourist being a thing… there are better things to do in the US and we kinda treat shopping at them as a thing we don’t particularly brag about.

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Boogerchair@reddit

Walmart is nothing like Lidl or Aldi, the US has them too. It’s more of a catchall for everything.

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urquhartloch@reddit

Its like a warehouse, grocery store, and shopping mall in one building. You go there for cheap stuff, not good stuff.

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CelticSamurai91@reddit

There is a British youtuber called Where TF is Charlie that did a really good reaction video when he visited a Walmart super center. He goes in depth on what the store sells and even does a price comparison with what stuff would cost in the UK.

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sgtm7@reddit

It is true one stop shopping. You can get everything from tampons to car tires there. As an expat going on 20 years now, it is one of the few stores I truly miss from the USA.

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Turd_Fergusons_@reddit

I refer to it as "the hall of the damned"...

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FireHammer09@reddit

A big frustrating store that does in fact have mostly everything you need

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Federal-Membership-1@reddit

I've been to Lidl and Aldi in Europe. They are very much like their stores in the US and nothing like Walmart.

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DannyDanumba@reddit

It’s either a regular store or the fucking badlands

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Nearby_Initial2409@reddit

It's pretty much that but if you're an American it feels pretty mundane because you are used to it. Like I personally really enjoy thinking about how we basically have access to things to the point of mundanity today but what would have made the most powerful monarchs even just a century or more ago extremely jealous. Like for example if I wanted to get my wife a purple silk scarf I could literally go into Walmart and buy one for less than I make in a single hour of work. If a Roman Emperor wanted to get a purple silk scarf for his Wife he's looking at years of sending people off to China or working through several connected merchants which similarly could take years to get the silk and dyes from as far away as China. It would cost him more money than the average Roman Laborer would see in their lifetime and it may not even ever arrive at all being stolen or lost along the way. Similarly less than 100 years ago as early as 1936 King George the Fifth, the Monarch of the British Empire the at the time largest and most powerful Empire to ever exist covering over 25% of the worlds landmass laid dying in his bed from a bacterial bronchitis that if I a minimally educated American had the same condition today I could walk into Walmart and buy an over the counter anti-biotic and be effectively cured by Monday.

One example I love is Boris Yeltsin who at the time was the Soviet People's Deputy for the Soviet Union. One of the highest ranking Communists from the most powerful Communist Nation on Earth often sited as a peer adversary of the US came to America in 1989 on a diplomatic mission. When here he made a brief stop at an American Grocery store. Not even a massive Walmart just a small town Grocery called Randall's Supermarket. He was so blown away by the sheer variety, availability, speed, and convenience of the American Food Industry as compared to his nation where people waited for hours or even days in line for less options and poorer quality food that it became one of the primary experiences that caused him to give up on Communism entirely.

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SMF67@reddit

I have a pretty negative view of Walmart, Target, and similar. Nowadays they feel dystopian as hell. Invasive surveillance and they are very blatant with it. Much more expensive. Also, it seems like nowadays they don't care a lot about the in-store shopping experience, they got rid of a lot of non-grocery stuff that they used to carry and now have signs telling you to shop online instead. And what they do carry of it is generally of both poorer quality and higher price than what you can find at stores specific for those goods (harbor freight for tools, ikea for home supplies, clothing stores for clothes, etc)

At least for food shopping, the experience at a supermarket chain local to my state - HEB in Texas - is far better. Cleaner, much cheaper, locally made bakery/snacks, more variety of special foods, etc. Not perfect but a much more ethical company that treats their workers better and integrates better into local economies and supply chains rather than driving out local business

I genuinely consider these nationwide big box store chains to be one of the most shameful parts of American economic culture. This video explains more about the negative side of it, and about how they differ from Aldi and similar.

Btw we have Aldi in America too, it's far smaller than Walmart and carries only groceries. The closest equivalent to Tesco here is probably Albertsons

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

I appreciate the detail, I'll check that video out. And I just learned that you lot have Aldi too🤦🏻‍♂️

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freenow4evr@reddit

I love Trader Joes/Aldi. They are much smaller than regular grocery stores, so I can run in and run out.

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Iliketoplan@reddit

Are you German? When I was in Berlin the closest thing to Walmart/target I found was the Rewe

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West_Guidance2167@reddit

I don’t know if our Lidl or Aldi is like yours, I can’t think of a two grocery store more polar opposite ends of the spectrum from Walmart to Aldi. I like Aldi, it’s my closest grocery store, but I cannot do all of my grocery shopping there. They just don’t have all of my grocery staples. Walmart has 10 times the inventory and tons of variety. BUT I could be in and out of Aldi in three minutes if I’m grabbing a few things where anytime you’re going to Walmart your looking at a 20 minute trip

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SheZowRaisedByWolves@reddit

Beeg store with different sections that makes it seem like an encased plaza. One part has food, one part has medicines, one part has cookware, one has kids stuff, one has auto stuff, etc. It reduces the need to go to different stores to get everything you need on a shopping list. Just don’t go past 5pm because that’s when the crazies come out.

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Traditional_Trust418@reddit

Huge, loud, and overstimulating. They used to be 24/7 and that was a perk because 3:00 a.m. shopping in a store with three other people in it is bliss. But now that they've gotten rid of that and most of them seem to close at 11:00 p.m. or even earlier than that, I avoid Walmart unless absolutely necessary

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ParadoxicalFrog@reddit

Big. Lots of stuff. Too many people.

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pikkdogs@reddit

Really big. Probably can’t get out of there in less than an hour.
Very busy. Hard to move.
Not staffed by very friendly staff you are kind of on your own.
Prices are cheap.

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Lower_Neck_1432@reddit

Write a shopping list, follow it, don't dawdle
Pick a better time to shop than Saturday afternoon
Varies by store, like any other store.
Generally yes.

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ghjm@reddit

If you've been to a large Tesco Extra then that's basically the same as an average Walmart. Except the Walmart is surrounded by literally 5 to 10 acres of parking.

If you go to a Walmart (or a Waffle House, etc) after reading the crazy shit Reddit has to say about them, you'll be disappointed. They're just full of regular, mostly lower middle class people.

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Bluemonogi@reddit

I live in a small town in a rural area. The Walmart is the only store with groceries in town now. It is just a store that has normal groceries as well as clothes, toys, garden stuff, pharmacy, etc. Everyone shops there if they don’t want to drive 45 minutes. The prices are often a bit lower than some other stores.

When I was younger and lived in a bigger city Target was viewed more middle class and Walmart was where lower income people shopped. It was said that employees at Walmart were not treated that great or paid well. The company would come into smaller markets and drive smaller local stores out of business because they could not compete with Walmart pricing. They developed kind of an evil image.

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Lower_Neck_1432@reddit

Combine a Tesco + Asda + miniature B&Q.

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Unhappy_Performer538@reddit

We don’t do the class thing in quite the same way you do. It’s like an ASDA. In fact I’m pretty sure ASDA & Walmart are owned by the same company.

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dr_strange-love@reddit

It's a low end department store

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alanaisalive@reddit

If you're British, it is literally just Asda. Asda is owned by Walmart. The food from Asda even gives me the same low-grade diarrhoea I had all the time when I lived in the US.

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mattcmoore@reddit

If you like Walmart, you should check out Costco.

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Educational-Big-6609@reddit

Big store, lots of basics, good prices. It’s like a Tesco but bigger and with non-grocery items.

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HermitoftheSwamp@reddit

Big store with just about anything you need, but not necessarily quality (but there is quality stuff, too). Prices are cheap and stores are open 24 hours.

Depending on where you live, shopping there can carry somewhat of a stigma I guess because many perceive it as a store for lower/working class people.

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SuLiaodai@reddit

And the stuff that's too low quality or dangerous to sell in the US stores gets sold in their foreign stores but with warnings only in English! They used to sell Christmas lights in China that had an English-language warning on the box that there was so much lead in the product that pregnant women shouldn't even touch them.

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Momoomommy@reddit

I wish our Walmart was open 24 hours. They never returned to that after covid. All the Walmarts in my state close before midnight and don't open until like 6/7 am. The ones closest to me close around 10/11 and don't open until like 7/8... It's incredibly annoying sometimes.

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HermitoftheSwamp@reddit

Wow, seems you are right. I shop at Walmart but I live in the sticks so I have to drive into town a ways to go which is always during the day. Didn't even realize my Walmart is open 6 AM - 11 PM until I looked it up just now. Always just assumed it was still 24 hours.

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Momoomommy@reddit

That makes me feel better that it's not just my Walmarts that stopped being 24 hours. I'm pretty sure, though, that my closest Walmart is still the only one with shorter hours...so that's cool...

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BookLuvr7@reddit

Imagine an Aldi the size of a small airport that also sells clothing, electronics, housewares, bikes, and guns. You'll have the average US Walmart Supercenter. Some sell gasoline out front too.

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QuantumAttic@reddit

This is a great place to watch people. If you're European it would blow your mind, but maybe not in a good way.

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Fit-Rip-4550@reddit

It's a big box store that sells everything from basic groceries to reasonably higher end electronics, with a decent amount in-between. It does not offer everything, but what you cannot find at Wal-mart, you likely will find at one of many hardware stores and home improvement equivalents.

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hollowbolding@reddit

tesco is............ more like a normal grocery store iirc, walmart's one of those big warehouse-style shops. probably closest to an ikea, honestly? but with less form; ikea for all its labyrinthine flaws has a specific purpose and stores like walmart/target/kmart (does kmart even exist anymore....) are more supposed to be jack of all trades juggernauts

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XayahTheVastaya@reddit

It's not even one of the bigger less common stores with specialty goods you might only find in major towns. I live in cornfield territory between 2 not so major towns and both of them have decent sized Walmarts.

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Little_Neddie@reddit

It has everything you need if you can accept low quality for a lot of it. That’s not even a dig. Lots of folks have to accept it.

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Round-Lab73@reddit

It's really depressing. It's an enormous box with even harsher lighting than a typical department store, so you can see all the dirt on everything. Stuff is hard to find. For some reason everyone is wearing pajamas. Shoppers are on edge and get into screaming matches with each other

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Firecrackershrimp2@reddit

I mean target is bringing back the popcorn machines and pizza so that’s a win

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lotusbloom74@reddit

Nothing too remarkable usually, just a large store selling some of virtually everything. When I lived in a smaller town I did quite a bit of grocery shopping there because the only other option was a small regional chain that was quite a bit more expensive on a lot of items. Now I have other grocery stores nearby including Meijer which feels like a more upscale Walmart - also has a wide range of products

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tn00bz@reddit

Walmart sucks. Its got a bit of everything. They usually have a grocery store section, a garden section, a pharmacy, clothes, toys, electronics, sports stuff. Just a bunch of stuff. Its the "everything you need" store. In some places it's the only store. Its also not the only type of store like this, but it is the trashiest. We'll, k-mart used to be the trashiest, but I think they all closed.

Target is where it's at. It's like middle class Walmart. A little bit of everything, but nicer. And with less ghetto people.

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Maple-4590@reddit

The draw is that the prices are (supposedly) rock bottom and you can do all your routine shopping in one stop. They have food, cleaning supplies, clothes, electronics, toys, tools, auto parts, etc.

The downside is that they cut costs on everything. The merchandise is low-quality unstylish mostly from China; stores are understaffed, so messy with long checkout lines; workers are underpaid; theft controls are annoying to honest customers; poor lighting; stores are located where land is cheap, so far out of town, or next to unpleasant industrial zones, etc.

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HumbleLife69@reddit

Gross and filled with poors

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InternationalGas4600@reddit (OP)

That's not very humble of you, HumbleLife69

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bloodectomy@reddit

It's a liminal space hellscape selling crap you need but don't want, whose fluorescent lights glare hellishly from too-high ceilings to illuminate the weirdest merchandise you didn't know exists, whose employees shuffle about in a zombie -like stupor, praying to an absent god that the children two aisles over aren't puking on the gnarly linoleum floor.

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PickleMundane6514@reddit

I have a job where I live overseas for several years at a time and when I go back to the US, I feel so overstimulated if I go to a Walmart. When you are used to having just a few choices of toilet paper and then suddenly there is like two 15 meter long walls of toilet paper of all kinds it can be a bit overwhelming. Basically you can’t even imagine the variety in the selections. Like anything you want there will be dozens of versions of it and you’ll have to make a decision for each item you buy.

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Hamblin113@reddit

Similar to the stores you mentioned. Basically one stop shopping at a competitive price. At one time many of the superstores were open 24 hours a day. Not as much now, but they were proactive in shopping for a person, can order everything you want on an app and stop by and pick it up without ever entering the store. This is beneficial for many. May now be using home delivery in some markets.

Years ago worked in the south, would go to Walmart for something to do.

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GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit

Welp tonight’s foray into the walmartsphere brought me bread, ziplock bags, some mailing boxes, 4 cans of cat food, a can of natural flea spray for my cat’s bed, 2 pairs of shorts on clearance and four 50¢ clearance bathing suit bottoms. While there I looked at some books, some camping gear, the new Mac Neo, flashlights, a blender, I got to wonder why they were stocking men’s underwear in the woman’s purses and accessories, I had a nice conversation with a guy about cats, talked to a woman about blood pressure meds, and another conversation with another dude about dill pickle corn puffs. So it was a nice Friday night at Walmart.

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Certain_Shake_5157@reddit

Asides from everyone have said, they forgot to mention that more than half of the things they sell are pretty cheap. Cheaper than other stores, cheaper than small convenient stores.

Thhey have giant ailses of gaming discs: nintendo, ps, xbox. Kids love to go there.

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Accomplished_Cell768@reddit

You might enjoy r/PeopleofWalmart. It has a reputation for attracting a lower class clientele. Target tends to be considered the more affluent version of Walmart.

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RickySlayer9@reddit

It’s a supermarket the size of a city block in Europe. Maybe bigger.

It’s got food, clothes, electronics, automotive supplies, sporting goods, furniture, and basically anything at all

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Occamsrazor2323@reddit

Every store is a museum of freaks.

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dubbins112@reddit

It’s just a typical store set in a warehouse. It’s got a lot of different kinds of things, but not a huge variety of them if that makes server. Prices are generally reasonable, quality can be hit or miss.

Because there so cheap you get a wide variety of people, and they don’t always mesh well, which is where the reputation comes from. I think most of them used to be open 24/7, which added to that.

If you want a wild crazy time in America then go hang out overnight at a Wafflehouse. That’s where the REAL chaos thrives.

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Icy-Whale-2253@reddit

You aren’t missing much

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alexthagreat98@reddit

Though not exactly answering your question, I do believe offering some context is important for your general knowledge of walmart. The US is large and spread out, and sometimes in small towns the largest store is a Walmart. It is where everyone in that town does their grocery shopping, clothes shopping, toiletries, pharmacy, nail salon, hair salon, etc. Walmart has really made itself known in less populated areas and typically serves as one of the few stores nearby. I live in a small town where there are other grocery stores, but no clothing/furniture item stores. I'd have to drive 80 minutes round trip to the nearest city without traffic and thats if the store I want is at the edge of that city. All to say, Walmart is all some people have.

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PapaTua@reddit

They have pretty much everything you might need for cheap. The trade off is low quality and unpleasant employees. A smiling Walmart worker is the exception rather than the rule.

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NewburghMOFO@reddit

BIG. They have really pushed into the grocery store aspect in recent years.

Their prices are consistently ok. If you don't shop online, and do not care to follow sales and hunt for the best prices then you can conceivably use them as a one-stop-shop with everything from apples to eye doctors to motor oil. Yes, some Walmarts allow you to buy guns as per your state's regulations. I have a cheap 0.22 Marlin self-loading carbine from Walmart.

I rarely shop there. Some of the customers can be.... rough. More than once in college when I was bored I got high and people watched late night at a Walmart.

The real reason I don't really shop there is their prices really are nothing special. It's consistently a just acceptable price for a just acceptable product. I feel like they prey on people seeking convenience more than anything. They need lazy customers or people who can't browse other stores due to hardship. I take my spending very seriously. Any dedicated grocery store will have a much better price and often better quality of a given item of produce IF YOU FOLLOW THEIR SALES. US grocery stores publish their sales every week. The same applies to auto parts, clothing, toys, whatever.

If you want to do all your shopping in person at one place and pay usually acceptable prices, then Walmart is great. Some people have kids or aren't comfortable shopping online and doing research. If you have the time and ability to actually shop around then they are probably not frequently in your sites.

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SituationSad4304@reddit

It has everything, from food to tires to house paint to clothes. None of it is amazing quality but it’s affordable

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marc4128@reddit

It’s just a fucking store.

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Graflex01867@reddit

It all depends on where you are.

Walmart is at its core a discount big-box store. It’s not fancy, there lots of rows of stuff, expect to see fairly high shelves filled with a lot of stuff. (The shelves are plain gray, white floors, fluorescent lighting.).

I’ve been to some Walmarts that were kinda dirty, poorly stocked, with employees that didn’t seem like they actually wanted to be there, and I’ve been to Walmarts that were bright, clean, organized, and filled with employees that actually wanted to be there and help me find things.

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Ok-Ambassador8271@reddit

Read about Boris Yeltsin's trip to an American grocery in 1989, then review these answers.

My grandfather was born in a log cabin, my father in a fieldstone house. I was literally of the first generation of my family to be born in a hospital and I am only in my early 40s.

Most Americans come from more privilege than most of the people in the world will ever see. I'm less than 100 years from the 1st person in my family to ever see a banana, mango, or pineapple. Walmart has all of those and more, literally all the time! You can go buy a gun, mouse poison, and a jar of pickles at 10:30pm. There are few things more quintessentially American than Walmart.

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WWGHIAFTC@reddit

Pretty sad really. The clientele has a reputation for sure. The stores are filled with So. Much. Junk.

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soldiernerd@reddit

Its probably the most boring thing in the USA

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shammy_dammy@reddit

There are quite a few video tours of Walmarts on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbxmRduNo5s

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Meilingcrusader@reddit

I actually like it a lot, its sort of an everything store. I often go for groceries but there is also a bit of everything else you could buy.

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Many-Rub-6151@reddit

Just a soulless superstore with everything you need with everything priced a bit higher than they should be, but not high enough for you too really complain

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kidthorazine@reddit

It's basically just a really big supermarket with a bunch of other household items and clothing as well, some of them also have an oil/tire shop built in. The selection and quality of items tend to be lower end to midrange, although do sell some some expensive TVs and stuff like that.

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The_Ref17@reddit

The stores are large, some are huge.

The quality of the goods is mediocre to low.

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Bigmtnskier91@reddit

Well it’s a store, so it can be busy and crowded, or quiet and calm depending on how many folks are shopping. I went yesterday and there was a normal amount of people. I got a new phone screen protector thing, non stick spray, Lays Pickle chips, aluminum foil, 6-pack of Great Value cream soda, and a 50 pack of .22lr ammo. 😉

YouTubers make a lot of edits and take liberties with the truth in videos. They may go to a store in the city and film something and make it seem like every poduck Walmart is a zoo. They are just large stores. They’ve been getting better with quality of items and the store brand is a solid choice.

They used to be crazy on Black Friday in the 90s? It was just a different experience back then.

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