What makes Walmart different from its competitors?
Walmart will sell its products at a lower price than any of its competitors and consistently done so for decades. The company also doesn't rely on gimmicks and sales to get customers through the door because it doesn't have to.
Generally, Walmart competitive advantage can be sustained in the global marketplace in long-term perspective. 'We Operate for Less' and 'We Buy for Less' programs saving us USD150 million in China[5]. The company can replicate this strategy to other markets in order to gain and sustain its cost advantage….
Throughout its 50+ years of history, Walmart has stayed true to its purpose and consistently striven to offer low everyday prices to its customers, and because of this, Walmart has built for itself a strong and loyal customer base. Customers walking into any Walmart store know that they can count on low prices.
Wal - Mart 's strategy is to sell branded products at low cost . Wal - Mart 's competitive advantage is cost leadership . The basis on which Wal - Mart builds its competitive advantage are the company 's management controls , organizational structure , human resource management , and culture .
It expanded by being able to offer both groceries and other merchandise under one store. It also diversified into the warehousing business by establishing Sam's Club. These allowed Walmart to continue to grow and sustain its competitive advantage. Wal-Mart is once again encountering limits to growth.
Every Day Low Prices on a Broad Assortment - Anytime, Anywhere. Every Day Low Price (EDLP) is the cornerstone of our strategy, and our price focus has never been stronger. Today's customer seeks the convenience of one-stop shopping that we offer.
One of the main reasons why Walmart consistently outperformed competition was its employees. Employees are responsible for breakthrough customer experiences and they are in turn, shaped by the company's culture. Sam realized that Walmart's employees are the interface between the store and the customers.
There is extensive competition on pricing, location, store size, layout and environment, merchandise mix, technology and innovation, and overall image. The market is definitely characterized by economies of scale.
Lack of competition
About 90% of Americans live within 15 miles of a Walmart, and the company can count on millions of customers using its physical stores as their go-to spot for groceries, clothing, household goods, and more. This huge, reliable customer base allows them to keep prices low.
Walmart boasts over 11,700 stores and serves about 270 million customers. Its business strategy is mainly based on “being competitive in terms of assortment, differentiating with the way people access, leading in terms of price, and delivering an incredible experience with the motto of EDLP (Every Day Low Prices).”
What competitive advantages does Walmart have over Amazon?
The major advantage that Wal-Mart holds over Amazon, as Johnson tells CNBC, is its vast network of physical locations. Just considering the U.S. market, Wal-Mart's stores are in reasonably close proximity to most consumers nationwide, and these stores sell much of what is available through Amazon, he notes.
An emphasis on customer attention (e.g., direct mail advertising), cost controls (e.g., low-cost imports), and efficiencies in its distribution networks (e.g., regional warehousing) helped Wal-Mart become the largest retailer in the United States in 1990.
Walmart competitors include Costco, Amazon, Target, Rakuten and Sears Holdings Corporation.
Walmart encounters several problems that include stiff competition, negative reputation, constraints in business acquisitions and joint ventures, and stringent cultural values in foreign markets (Kneer 25). There is stiff competition from other retail stores that have adapted a low-price strategy.
Walmart's Weaknesses – Internal Strategic Factors
Low wages, inadequate healthcare, and poor working conditions are few of the issues that have been publically criticized. Large span of control – Its highly extended size and massive span of control could leave Walmart weak in some areas.
Walmart achieves its cost advantage by leveraging its large scale purchases to source products at the cheapest rates from domestic and low-wage international markets. Furthermore, Walmart sells its products on very thin margins by taking advantage of its large volumes of sales.
Walmart, the big retailer, has been able to keep prices low by being efficient with its resources and fully leveraging economies of scale. The company is so big that it can buy everything from food to clothes at lower prices than any other retailer.
The major advantage that Wal-Mart holds over Amazon, as Johnson tells CNBC, is its vast network of physical locations. Just considering the U.S. market, Wal-Mart's stores are in reasonably close proximity to most consumers nationwide, and these stores sell much of what is available through Amazon, he notes.
Lack of competition
About 90% of Americans live within 15 miles of a Walmart, and the company can count on millions of customers using its physical stores as their go-to spot for groceries, clothing, household goods, and more. This huge, reliable customer base allows them to keep prices low.
There is extensive competition on pricing, location, store size, layout and environment, merchandise mix, technology and innovation, and overall image. The market is definitely characterized by economies of scale.
Is Walmart in a perfectly competitive market?
Target and Walmart are an example of a perfectly competitive market because they carry the same products such as groceries, clothing, domestic items, electronics, and such things. A perfectly competitive firm determines its profits maximizing level of output by equaling its marginal revenue by its marginal cost.
Walmart started as physical stores and added an online store in recent years; Amazon is a giant ecommerce store with limited physical outlets.
- The Kroger Company:
- Costco:
- Home Depot:
- Walgreens Boots Alliance:
- Target:
- Amazon:
- Lowe's:
- Best Buy:
Renowned for its cheap, one-stop shopping experience, Walmart swiftly captured market share by aggressively undercutting small-town supermarkets. By 2001, Walmart overtook Exxon Mobil to become the world's largest company by revenue.
Walmart achieves its cost advantage by leveraging its large scale purchases to source products at the cheapest rates from domestic and low-wage international markets. Furthermore, Walmart sells its products on very thin margins by taking advantage of its large volumes of sales.
