It’s Okay To Shop At Walmart (Sometimes)

OP-ED
It's a struggle. Big box shopping, or small independent? We’ve drawn our personal battle lines, somewhere, but right and wrong get so damn blurry in these retail wars. Of course we’re against the notion of minimum-wage slave labor, Union-busting working conditions, destruction of local economies, but really… how cool is contact solution for under $2?

The fact of the matter is however much we decry the cost-cutting, economy sucking, no-benefits antics of our nation’s most profitable retailer, we all shop there. It wouldn’t be the nation’s most profitable retailer if we didn’t. If you’re reading this blog, odds are pretty good that you’re already a penny pinching fanatic, yourself. You’ve probably run down the aisles of the big box, drunkenly singing the praises of cheap toilet paper and two-for-one macaroni and cheese. But when you get home, you’re a little hung over from all the sinfully fun spending, a little guilt stricken by your shameless chatter with the checkout girl, aren’t you?

Did those falling prices land on your conscience kind of hard?

I have a theory, however, that I’m now giving to the nation for the inexplicably low price of free.

Stop me if I sound crazy. But. It’s okay to shop at Walmart…sometimes.

I think a lot of people become so guilt stricken about going to Walmart, however, that they’re now afraid to show their face in the little family grocer down the block, fearing they’ll leave incriminating orange fingerprints from that economy-sized bag of Cheetos they’ve been snacking on, or that their new cost-conscious MP3 player will start beeping in their pocket like a tell-tale heart. But this isn’t a red state, blue state decision—it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

One trip to those little stores, once a weeks or so, means a lot to them--a lot more than you might think. Do you always go to the large chain to buy your groceries? Is it really necessary to get the best deal every time? Probably not. Your budget, so buffered by $8 t-shirts and twelve packs of tighty-whities, can probably handle the occasional $5 frozen pizza from the corner store. Spending a bit of money at the small stores, and even the smaller chains, keeps valuable competition alive.

Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be your life’s mission.

You don’t have to put on hemp sandals and always buy organic, but because you have to shop for food every week, why not take one or two of your five shopping trips a month, and splurge a little on the local economy? Think of it as flossing your teeth. Yes, the dentist wants you to do it after every glass of water, but for those of us who lie to their white-masked faces and keep an every-other-day routine, we’re still in pretty good oral shape.

About that guilt.

Conversely, while yes, you are supporting ‘ol Sam’s chain when you get your CDs for a song, you aren’t supporting them that much. While they’re too big to feel any huge economic loss if you personally stop shopping (that’s what you tell yourself, isn’t it?) they’re also so big you don’t help them that much when you step under their big tin roof. The geriatric greeter may make your feel pretty darn special, but to those baleful yellow smiles watching you from the tops of the sales racks, you’re just one of many brick in the wall(mart).

Let me put it another way (because the last paragraph probably only made sense to me). $10 isn’t going to make-or-break Walmart if you spend it at their store, so to keep your budget under control, go and buy a few bags of pretzels. $10 to the local grocer may make-or-break it, however, so make sure you go buy your Wonder Bread there, every now and then.