Louisiana shoppers react to Walmart’s ‘big’ price change

Classes have started again across Louisiana. At least most of our public schools across the state have invited their students back to class. In the meantime, many of our state’s universities and colleges are preparing to welcome their students back next week. LSU in Baton Rouge will begin classes on August 26, as will the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Of course, with kids going back to school, that means mom and dad have to get back to shopping. One of the largest back-to-school retailers in the country is Walmart. Walmart is just big. Last quarter, the retail giant increased its profits by 4.87% to an incredible gross sales of $169.34 billion.

Of course, to make that much money you have to run your business smart, and Walmart’s frontrunner seems to have settled on a strategy that resonates with many Louisiana shoppers.

What is Walmart’s new pricing policy in Louisiana?

Get ready, this will blow your mind. Walmart has found that customers in Louisiana have a better shopping experience when prices aren’t so high. I know, I was speechless too. Walmart has been paying close attention to customer problems and their strategy seems to be this: We’re going to save people money where we can, and where we can’t, we won’t.

To underscore this point, Walmart executives have announced a price cut on more than 7,200 items across various categories of the store. In an earnings call last week, Walmart CEO Doug McMillion told attendees that the company was pleased to see some grocery prices come down.

McMillion noted in his comments that some products, particularly dry goods and processed foods, are still more expensive than average. Items that are unlikely to see a price reduction in the near future include eggs, dairy, sugar and meat. However, pet food, some fruits, sporting goods and certain lawn and garden items are costing less than in previous months.

The giant retailer also noted that its online sales showed signs of positive growth, with nearly a fifth of Walmart’s sales coming online. Company management hopes that price cuts and the convenience of online shopping will further fuel the company’s growth.

And just because we live and work in a “sane people’s world,” it’s important that we applaud Walmart’s decision to cut prices on about 7,200 items in each of its stores. There are over 120,000 items in a typical Walmart store, so prices are only being cut on about 6% of inventory.

That said, if you want to save money, you’ll probably have to do some searching when shopping. But at least we get some discounts, right?