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Can we talk about Walmart basically not putting more than 5% of their ad online?

Brad

By Brad
in 2012

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Brad

Brad

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What happened?

 

I don't think I ever saw the counter on the tracker above 20 total items at any given point over Thursday/Friday.

 

They always had a good chunk of their ad items available online and this year it was nothing but relatively crappy online-only sales.

 

If they want their .com to compete with Amazon like they told us, they aren't going about it the right way....

 

I really hope this isn't how they plan on doing things in future years.

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Brad

Brad

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Oh, last year I spent over $300 at Walmart.com---This year, ZILCH, NOTHING, NADA, $0

And you aren't alone.

 

I can just imagine what our site's sales are going to be like when the final numbers come in. Our WM affiliate rep better not dare ask for an explanation of why sales from GD were down this year.

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Brad

Brad

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Seems like their online deals went on strike this year...

 

Only reasoning I can think of is that they didn't want people staying home waiting for the online sale and instead wanted people in the stores so they'd (hopefully) buy more items that weren't loss leaders.

 

I'm going to try to get some clarification but they were very cryptic about their plans for the last few weeks, so they definitely knew but were keeping the bad news a secret.

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bellastarr

bellastarr

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Between not having much online and then the website messing up, I bet Walmart lost a lot of online sales this year. I finally found one thing I wanted and tried for hours to checkout and it wouldn't let me. Lots of people were raising he77 on FB last night with the same problem. Walmart will never be able to compete with Amazon if the website messes up every time there is a big sale.
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tdanette

tdanette

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Seems like their online deals went on strike this year...

 

Only reasoning I can think of is that they didn't want people staying home waiting for the online sale and instead wanted people in the stores so they'd (hopefully) buy more items that weren't loss leaders.

 

I'm going to try to get some clarification but they were very cryptic about their plans for the last few weeks, so they definitely knew but were keeping the bad news a secret.

Do you think they plan to have a better sale for Cyber Monday (since that sale usually isn't as good as BF anywhere imo)? I can't imagine why they didn't even try to compete this year:confused:

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tinkrbel

tinkrbel

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My best guess is that they knew their servers couldn't handle it and didn't care to upgrade. I avoided WM.com this year after last years experience of staying up and then not being able to log into my cart (which I was already logged into) in order to check out, eventually it worked and cart was empty so I replaced items then had multiples and got same unable to login error and then everything was sold out and I left house late for B&M stores with nothing ordered.

 

I made the mistake of hitting the store early on Thursday hoping to be in prime spot for the Madagascar bluray combo pack I was missing and pick up some pj's for godson and maybe a sheet set. The sheets got brought onto the shop floor AFTER I gave a rep my paper showing which were in the sale (as an older couple and I had searched and asked multiple people who just shrugged until we found someone who tried to help) and a good 40 minute wait later and the bluray never made it to shop floor by 8:30 when I gave up and left. Considering I found a lonely Brave bluray combo pack before the sale I'm guessing they just put them on display before sale which explained the empty shelves on sale display. The store experience left me in a bad mood and reinforced the belief that WM couldn't possibly care LESS about it's customers. I'm thankful I had a few hours to cool off and down a tub of Ben and Jerry's before I had to hit the next store.

 

I'll give them a little slack in that this is the 1st year THIS store has been open for sale as they opened at 5 or 6am last year and had time to rearrange everything to their hearts content HOWEVER that doesn't excuse the lack of organization, knowledge or tact. WM is a conglomerate and at the very least the store should have gotten a little guidance from head office (or even the other store not 15 miles away which handles a much larger volume). There were no maps for customers ,much less associates to guide customers, and it irked me to see all these people standing about being completely useless. I'm sure they were just extra bodies in case chaos broke out but would a little training/knowledge have been too much to give them.

 

I even spoke to the store manager several times and was told that things "should be" here or there with no other input after being told they were not, NOT ACCEPTABLE.

Edited by tinkrbel
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christina5704

christina5704

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I did buy a few things from walmart.com but they were not any sort of "deals". The one and only deal that I did try to order online they cancelled, saying the store didn't have it in-stock, it was a game COD MW3 that they had marked down on their website for store pick up before the 8pm Thursday sale. A majority of our money went to Amazon and Kohls.
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princessbsl45

princessbsl45

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I was disappointed. I refused to go battle the crowds on Thursday night but most of what I wanted was at Walmart. My money ended up going to Best Buy, Toys R Us, SAMs Club and Amazon. Walmart did get little of my money for the $110 DSI XL bundle but it was a nightmare trying to check out. I had to keep tricking the system by adding two to my cart and deleting one before it would let me check out! All 3 times!!
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Mandy4Matt

Mandy4Matt

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I ordered ONE of the BF sale items on Thurs...the $79 Orion tv...after I got an email saying new items had been added to the sale online. I wasn't looking for it, (hubby wants it for the the boy's room). They sold out quickly, I noticed. I had no problems checking out..and it arrived Saturday. I have to say, I am happy with the transaction.
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jakesmommy403

jakesmommy403

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I didn't buy anything from Walmart online this year! After looking at all my stuff, the bulk of my shopping happened on Amazon. Their deals were sweet and with that prime 2 day free shipping it was easy to be in my jammies on my couch doing my shopping.

 

During the run up to black friday and on the day itself, I spent $288 on Amazon, $202 at Target, $126 at Kmart, $119 at TRU, $65 in Kohls, $19 in Walmart, and $7 in JCP. $19 at Walmart!!!?? I've never done that before! And $10 of that was on something I picked up as a favor to my mom so I actually spent $9 out of pocket there.

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fluffkin79

fluffkin79

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Seems like their online deals went on strike this year...

 

Only reasoning I can think of is that they didn't want people staying home waiting for the online sale and instead wanted people in the stores so they'd (hopefully) buy more items that weren't loss leaders.

 

I'm going to try to get some clarification but they were very cryptic about their plans for the last few weeks, so they definitely knew but were keeping the bad news a secret.

I was really frustrated but I must admit, it got me to go to the store! I would probably have spent more online though. In the store, I grabbed the few items I wanted & bolted for the checkout.

Exactly!

 

Their stratagy DID get me to the store, but it was so packed that I was really only able to get my 1 top-priority item. I was actually excited about the Walmart ad, but I got less than half of what I was intersted in. If I had been able to order my 3 storage benches online, then I wouldn't have needed to use a cart in store. No need for a cart = I buy more. Since I couldn't get anywhere near the movies and video games (or anywhere, really) with my cart, I skipped them and checked out with just my benches and the Brave movie I happened to be able to grab as I was being pushed past the electronics department. I tried to get Monster High Dolls in store, but they were gone before 8pm. I called DH right away to have him order from Walmart.com, but they chose not to offer them online.

 

I did try to buy some of what I missed Walmart.com when I got home. I found a few of the items available, but the website refused to let me check out.

 

I paid .99 more to order my Nabi from BestBuy.com and it was worth every penny! DD wanted this badly, and it was my top-priority item this year. When BB offered it for nearly the same price I jumped on it! I had no idea if this was a ticket or pallet item at Walmart, so I couldn't figure out what time to get there. I considered calling the store to ask but, judging from previous experience with Walmart, I wouldn't trust them to know. Either way, I was hosting Thanksgiving this year and leaving before 7pm was out of the question. I still don't know what you had to do to get a Nabi from Walmart. I was all over the store and didn't see them anywhere.

 

I don't see how having people come to the store is better for them. My store had almost every route through the store blocked off. In addition to the baricades I expected, they put giant pallets of general merchandise in the clothing sections so you HAD to try to find a way to get down the crowded main aisles. But there were so many people waiting in line for so many different things that the aisles were at a standstill. The only way to move through the store was to push past people. At 8:00 everyone grabbed what they've been waiting for and many items dissappeared instantly. People got bumped and jostled, and I felt like I'd be lucky to get 2-3 of the items I came for. Do they really think that I am going to stay in the store for a minute longer than I had to? Even I if I did want to get a few non-BF items, most of the store looked like a different place. Much of the regular merchandise was inaccessable because of the special displays and I couldn't get to certain items even if I wanted to.

 

Get it together, Walmart! Offer your stuff online. Better yet, offer it online Thursday morning. I'll still come to your stores, and with less of a crowd you might even get some bonus purchases out of me. I bought my cereal and milk at CVS this year. It could have been Walmart, instead.

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princessbsl45

princessbsl45

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Exactly!

 

Their stratagy DID get me to the store, but it was so packed that I was really only able to get my 1 top-priority item. I was actually excited about the Walmart ad, but I got less than half of what I was intersted in. If I had been able to order my 3 storage benches online, then I wouldn't have needed to use a cart in store. No need for a cart = I buy more. Since I couldn't get anywhere near the movies and video games (or anywhere, really) with my cart, I skipped them and checked out with just my benches and the Brave movie I happened to be able to grab as I was being pushed past the electronics department. I tried to get Monster High Dolls in store, but they were gone before 8pm. I called DH right away to have him order from Walmart.com, but they chose not to offer them online.

 

I did try to buy some of what I missed Walmart.com when I got home. I found a few of the items available, but the website refused to let me check out.

 

I paid .99 more to order my Nabi from BestBuy.com and it was worth every penny! DD wanted this badly, and it was my top-priority item this year. When BB offered it for nearly the same price I jumped on it! I had no idea if this was a ticket or pallet item at Walmart, so I couldn't figure out what time to get there. I considered calling the store to ask but, judging from previous experience with Walmart, I wouldn't trust them to know. Either way, I was hosting Thanksgiving this year and leaving before 7pm was out of the question. I still don't know what you had to do to get a Nabi from Walmart. I was all over the store and didn't see them anywhere.

I also ordered the Nabi on Wednesday morning from Best Buy. I went to Walmart at 8:30 on Friday morning and there were still a ton of Nabi's under the counter in electronics. No sale signs or anything. My friend went over there at 4:30 pm and got one. Apparently it wasn't a must have at our store!

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Stowasser

Stowasser

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Well, its very foolish on their part if they don't participate in the online shopping trend. I wouldn't even step foot in a Walmart for Black Friday sales and we are a small area, so unless its online, they won't get my business and I am sure (reading here all through the weekend) that I am not the only person that wants to shop online. Amazon matched alot of the BM stores ads so very hard to muster going into the store when I can get it online shipped to my home!
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jakesmommy403

jakesmommy403

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I have to say for the record that I did more online shopping this year than I have ever done. In fact, my whole game plan has changed for future black fridays. From here on out I'll be shopping Amazon during black Friday week and on Thanksgiving evening, then getting up around 5 a.m. and hitting any stores I need to, like Target or TRU. I'm pretty excited about it. Stress-free shopping from the comfort of my own home wasn't how I pictured black Friday even just a few years ago!

 

And honestly, and I'm not saying this for bandwagon shock value, I don't need walmart anymore. It used to be my main stop, now I can skip the frustration and leave walmart out. Pretty excited about that too!

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catholicbride11

catholicbride11

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I always planned on going into the store and got everything I really needed, but I did get things I had planned to buy at Walmart online at other stores prior to Thursday. If they would have put their ad online they would have gotten that revenue from me instead of Kmart, kohls etc getting it.

 

I will ALWAYS be an in store Black Friday shopper, but stores are fools if they don't realize most of us do online, mobile and in store shopping and need to cater to all 3 of those.

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