Walmart, Inc. is the largest brick and mortar retailer in the world with stores in 27 countries under a variety of brand names.
Source: Investopedia, Business Insider
In the US, there are three different formats of the brick and mortar Walmart stores which include Walmart Supercenters ...
We set out to see how the newer supercenter model stacks up to its original discount store counterpart — the first discount store opened in 1962 and the first supercenter opened in 1988.
Source: Walmart
At first glance, the two stores looked the same. As we walked through the first set of automatic doors in Norwalk we saw a sea of shopping carts to our right ...
... and a few arcade games that seemed a bit out of place next to a key-cutting machine on our left.
In Secaucus, the store had the same double sliding door entryway and there was a similar cluster of carts to our left ...
... and the games and key cutting machine to our right. But the machine and games looked less out of place at the supercenter because there were vending machines filling up the wall as well.
... and a small Dunkin' outpost — the smell of doughnuts was strong and hit us right as we walked through the door before we even got a chance to see where it was coming from.
... but there was also so much more. Shelves of bread, cookies, and cakes were to our left, and there was a sea of fresh produce in front of us.
There were also spring flowers on display — we visited Secaucus in the spring and Norwalk in the winter.
While there was no Dunkin' in the Secaucus store, there was a large McDonald's which included a dining area.
The Secaucus store made an overall better first impression with its more open floor plan and the grocery section. Walmart Supercenter wins this round.
The grocery section in Secaucus was sprawling. There were the bakery and deli sections lining the perimeter ...
Behind all the produce was a counter with prepared foods, which mostly consisted of chicken and fried appetizers.
The cases held goodies like ice cream and pancakes, but also frozen dinners and lots of chicken nuggets.
When it came to dry goods, the supercenter also had a great selection. From condiments to snacks, noodles to cereal, there was no shortage of food to choose from.
While the discount store we checked out in Norwalk does sell a lot of food, none of it was ready-made like in the New Jersey supercenter. This was a big factor that led us to decide the discount store is probably not meant to be used as a supermarket.
Instead of fresh or ready-made food, all of the food at the discount store was pre-packaged, and most of it lived outside the realm of refrigeration.
Instead of bakery displays, we saw walls and walls of cookies — which the supercenter also had — to fulfill your sugar cravings ...
... and an island dedicated to barrels of utz Cheddar Cheese Balls. The supercenter in Secaucus also had islands of featured products across the store.
When it came to the refrigerated and frozen sections in Norwalk, we saw only two separate refrigerated cases. The case pictured here had a few bags of frozen fish and an array of frozen meals.
... frozen bread, and some frozen dessert like the Monkey Bread, seen here next to boxes of breadsticks and Texas toast.
At both Walmart stores, it was nearly impossible to ignore the abundance of cereal. Just looking at it all immediately brought us back to our childhood.
... and organic versions of more well-known cereal brands. These Cocoa Bunnies and peanut butter, chocolate Cheerios looked like the healthier alternative to Cocoa Puffs and Reese's Puffs.
Next to the soft drinks in Secaucus was a refrigerated wall filled with milk, eggs, juice, whipped cream, and other similar products.
Continuing down the sole refrigerated aisle in the discount store — next to the frozen bread — we found yogurt and a few other dairy products, varieties of butter and butter substitutes, creamers, and cartons of already-beaten eggs. There was also milk and shelled eggs both sporting the "Great Value" label.
Both Walmarts offered a lot more than just food, too. We visited the discount store in March, a little more than a month before Easter. The myriad of egg buckets shown here was just the tip of the festive iceberg.
The Norwalk location had a number of other walls of decorations around the store like the one seen here.
We visited the supercenter in May, just weeks before Memorial Day. While the bakery had plenty of red white and blue themed desserts ...
... the store also had a few walls of decorations. This category was a tie considering the discount store had more decorations, but the supercenter offered themed food.
When it came to home decor, both stores had a lot to offer. There were aisles of furniture, mirrors, room accessories, carpets, and desk chairs.
But the supercenter just seemed to have a larger quantity of everything, especially bikes. So if you're looking to have lots of toy and equipment options to choose from, the supercenter would be your best bet.
After walking around both stores, we thought the discount store had a better clothing section. It had an entire wall of women's jeans on offer, which we didn't see at the supercenter. We also thought the discount store's clothing section was also easier to navigate than the one in the supercenter because the sections were more clearly marked and had a more open floorplan. The smaller store won this category.
While both stores had outdoor furniture for sale, the discount store in Norwalk had an entire outdoor garden section that was built in a greenhouse-type room.
The Secaucus supercenter was selling the furniture in the main store. We thought the Norwalk store's section created a much better shopping experience, so it won this round as well.
Other areas like the newsstands at checkout, heavy promotion of the company's famous "Every Day Low Prices," pharmacy, tech and entertainment, and cleaning supplies were all evenly comparable between the two stores. While the supercenter sometimes had more variety in terms of brands available, discount store shoppers certainly still had plenty of options to choose from.
In terms of the overall shopping experience, we thought the supercenter in Secaucus was more pleasant. The discount store in Norwalk seemed a bit neglected. The shelves gave us more of a warehouse feel, and the things in the entry — like the key machine and games — looked like they were in limbo.
The supercenter we went to looked more polished and thought out — like there was a method to the mega-store madness. So if you have the choice between doing your shopping at a supercenter or a discount store, we think the supercenter is your best bet for a one-stop shopping trip.
That being said, the amount of variety at the supercenter did seem a little excessive. While choices can be good — there's seemingly something for everyone — they can also be overwhelming. Studies have shown too many choices can be "paralyzing" for some people, The New York Times reported.
Source: The New York Times
