There are lots of reasons to shop at Walmart, from the wide availability of products and services to the low prices offered in-store.
However, there are plenty of people who outright refuse to shop with Walmart. So why do people hate Walmart so much? Here are seven reasons why!
Key Takeaways
7 Reasons Why People Hate Walmart In 2022
1. Customer Satisfaction Is Consistently Low
While Walmart is many peoples’ go-to store for everyday essentials, a lot of people give it a wide berth due to its reputation for poor customer service.
In fact, Walmart consistently ranks significantly lower than the national average for supermarket customer satisfaction. So, if you shop at Walmart, chances are you won’t find the most helpful or happiest staff.
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, the stores that tend to rank highest for customer satisfaction include:
- Nordstrom
- Target
- Macy’s
- J.C. Penney
2. Walmart Doesn’t Pay Employees Very Well
It probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that customer service isn’t great at Walmart, considering that the employees on the shop floor aren’t paid all that well.
It is common knowledge that, while Walmart posts impressive profits, wages start at just $11.
Even though this is higher than the federal minimum wage, it still means that many employees who work full-time at Walmart have to rely on food stamps, Medicare, and public housing.
It’s also lower than the average minimum rate for grocery stores and supermarkets in the US, which is $12.52 at the time of writing.
3. Walmart Doesn’t Always Offer The Best Prices
Walmart’s biggest selling point is that it offers discounted prices on an astonishing range of products. However, other stores are catching up, fast!
In the last few years, competing stores such as Target, Costco, and Kroger have been working on their reputations for offering low-priced merchandise.
4. Finding Products In Walmart Can Be A Nightmare
Another reason why Walmart stores are hated is because they are usually big, sprawling, and very, very busy. As a result, it can be difficult to find what you’re looking for when shopping at Walmart.
When on the hunt for something specific, you might be confronted with messy shelves, missing products, or misplaced items that have been put down in the wrong aisle by other shoppers.
It doesn’t make for the most enjoyable or efficient shopping experience!
5. Walmart Stores Are Usually Understaffed
Another reason why people tend to avoid shopping at Walmart is that they are very often understaffed. But Walmart stores are known for being popular and, as a direct consequence, very busy.
Not having enough associates working the registers has been known to cause long queues, while a lack of staff on the shop floor could help to explain why the shelves and merchandise are so disorganized so much of the time.
Additionally, since Walmart stores can be understaffed, customer complaints can also go unanswered when customers have an issue in-store. Which is another reason why Walmart is disliked.
6. They Aren’t Always That Convenient
It can sometimes feel like there are Walmart stores everywhere. And, with 4,756 stores in the US, there are a lot around. However, they aren’t always as convenient as you might think.
In some states (particularly those that require businesses to pay higher minimum wages), there are relatively few Walmart stores. So, you may find that you have to travel quite a way to get to one.
Not to mention that, when you do, there’s no guarantee that it will be one of their larger Supercenters data-contrast=”auto”>, where the wider range of products on offer would likely make the trip more worthwhile.
7. Walmart Drives Out Local Independent Businesses
Another main reason why people tend to hate Walmart is that they demolish local grocery and department stores when they move into a new city or town.
There have even been some reports that state Walmart will sell products at a loss to attract customers to their stores when expanding into a new region.
To learn more, you can also see my posts on whether or not Walmart is evil, why Walmart failed in Germany and their key competitive advantages that make them so successful.