Many people fear that Wal-Mart will replace their small-town general store and grocer. Some of these same people fear that WM will use its information tracking system illicitly, even though they don't worry about people at the local general store gossiping about their purchases. Crammed in the middle of this article is a description of who WM uses its information about you:
Ted Walnofer, Wal-Mart Manager says, � Big ticket purchases. If there's a grill to be bought a microwave a bike, a king size comforter, higher ticket items, will always spike first of the month, middle of the month.�No, Wal-Mart's are better.Since it began tracking, Wal-Mart had seen customer spending level off toward the middle of the month. But in the last year, something has changed. Instead of a curve, where spending dips, it's a sharp V, where spending nearly collapses around the 11th, until people get paid again on the 15th.
Walnofer says, �The consumer has become strapped. You can see with the job losses and concern in economy.�
How does Wal-Mart know we're living paycheck to paycheck? Because 100 million people shop in U.S. Wal-Mart's every week and the company takes in 6 to 8 cents of every dollar spent on U.S. retail, other than automobiles.
Walnofer says, �Only the United States department of defense has a better information system, computers, other than Wal-Mart.�
Posted by Kevin on May, 8 2004 at 12:05 PM
