Converts to penny-pinching may stick with Walmart

November 12, 2009 08:01 AM E-mail| |Comments ()| Text size – +

The recession may be changing shopping habits, and consumers who have flocked to Walmart in recent months - including those with incomes above $100,000 - are likely to remain loyal to the giant discount chain even after the economy improves.

That's one finding of a new survey from L.E.K. Consulting, a global consulting firm with offices in Boston.

In past downturns, many consumers gravitated toward stores with the lowest prices, only to revert to their old ways and head back to their favorite department store and pricier merchants when the good times started to roll. And some economists think that will happen again. Once a recovery is in full swing, folks will flee no-frills Walmarts and seek out stores with premium merchandise and staffs dedicated to making a visit a swell and convenient shopping experience.

But after surveying more than 2,000 households, L.E.K. Consulting concluded that a permanent change in shopping habits may be in the offing as "consumers are proactively striving to maximize value for each dollar."

Such a trend could have long-term benefits for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the Arkansas-based company that operates the Walmart chain, L.E.K. Consulting said. Even though some consumers in the survey expressed some dissatisfaction with the Walmart shopping experience and decried the discounter's lack of selection, many newly converted penny-pinchers expressed a willingness to continue to overlook such issues if one result is perceived savings, L.E.K. Consulting said.

"Walmart continues to gain traction across several key categories and has seen increased penetration among older families and consumers within higher income brackets - particularly among those with annual incomes between $100,000 and $150,000," L.E.K. Consulting said in a press release about its survey. "Respondents believe Walmart offers a perceived savings of eight to 10 percent. As a result, consumers suggest that retailers would have to decrease 'perceived prices' by six to seven percent on average to motivate a return to their stores."

The press release included a statement from Andrew Rees, vice president and head of L.E.K.’s retail and consumer products practice.

"Walmart’s newest customers are demonstrating loyalty to their new-found method of dollar-stretching," Rees said. "That may come as welcome news to the retail giant, but competing retailers could find this bit of post-recession medicine hard to swallow." (Globe Staff)