What's Up With That?

I don’t go there very often anymore, but I went the other day to get something I knew was cheaper there, at least it used to be, than somwhere else.

From the looks of it, they are making good on their promise to go uptown and try to become the retailer of choice for the more discerning shopper. The aisles are wider, the amount of merchandise on the shelves is very much thinned out and the apparel area looks like it’s in a Mall Store, not Walmart. Macy’s, look over your shoulder, Walmart is coming for you with both guns blazing!

I knew not to go to the grocery department since I got burned with their prices quite a while ago; if a Kroger store is cheaper than Walmart, that’s too much of a conundrum for me. Out of curiosity, I went to the T-shirt and Night shirt aisle, because I did buy a couple of T-shirts and a $6 Nightshirt a few years ago. The T-shirts were called ‘George’, wouldn’t you believe it, I still have them after 5 years and even with a lot of wear and a lot of washing, they are still holding up quite nicely. There’s no way I’d buy what they offer now! When I held it up, I could see the ceiling light through the material, the whole light fixture! Did I mention it was twice as expensive? It was the exact same for the Nightshirt. Maybe I shouldn’t wear my T-shirts and Night shirt I bought at the ‘real’ Walmart so often and reserve them for special occasions.

Another thing I noticed: not that many shoppers in the store. There used to be throngs of people and long waiting lines at the check-outs; I was in and out in a jiffy. Even with the quick trip, I won’t shop at Walmart a lot anymore. Used to go there about once a week, now it’s maybe once a month and that only for one or two items I know are cheaper there which, if they are no longer, will mean it’s going to be a trip couple of times a year.