What do you think of the "big box" stores?

I am not a big shopper. I leave that up to my wife and daughter. I do enjoy going into sporting goods stores and checking out the fishing gear.
 

Since big box Walmart is the only major store near me, I don't have much choice, but that doesn't make me a fan - and they're in the process of totally reorganizing the store, making it impossible to find what I need. I've heard they do this to make the customers spend more time in the store and perhaps buy more. That may work on some shoppers, but not me. I have a list when I go there, and I won't be leaving with anything that isn't on my list.
 
I will buy from any stores, big or small, as long as they have good deals.
I can understand that way of looking at it. Huge variety, convenience of spending time in one building to find & purchase things that you need.

The other side of it is that big-box stores are always competing with one another within a given geography, and competing with online outlets like Amazon. So around where I live, the box stores have wound up cutting staff as much as they possibly can, in order to trim their costs. So there's less personnel on the floor... most staff are behind tills, with a few in the office, and some janitorial staff, etc.

Check-out staff tend to have next to zero knowledge about where things are located. They're often clueless about a product's quality or uses, so research is totally up to you.

What have the boxes destroyed? Businesses that are locally owned, where proprietors and sometimes employees do know where things are shelved, and know something about quality and usefulness. I value personalized service. E.g., we have a great family-run hardware store in my community... proprietors & employees there can advise about plumbing, carpentry, electrical, kitchen supplies, garden equipment and much more... they can advise from experience.

Well, fuzzybuddy, you did ask what we think.
 
Last edited:
Check-out staff tend to have next to zero knowledge about where things are located. They're often clueless about a product's quality or uses, so research is totally up to you.
Exactly. After I got clean after the addiction debacle, I realized I needed to get money coming in, fast. I have a master's degree, and I had a white collar career, but I nearly derailed it because of my addiction.

When I got out of the hospital, I needed something—anything—ASAP. I got hired at Walmart in the apparel department. The level of disorganization was mind-boggling. They sent me straight out onto the floor with almost no training and no idea of what I was supposed to do. If a customer had a question, I wouldn't have an answer but would have to try to track down a manager (which wasn't easy).

I realized exactly what you said, @JBR: With Walmart, at least, you have to do your own research. The staff are virtually useless, but it's not really their fault.

My job there didn't last long. I'm happy to say that after a couple of years of menial work, scrubbing toilets and mopping floors, I was able to resurrect my publishing career and am back to successful self-employment.

To answer the original question, I prefer big box stores for the price and variety. I'd prefer to support local establishments, but my budget just doesn't accommodate the much higher prices.
 
They are BIG and I don't really like them. I hate the scavenger hunt for items when they move things around. :rolleyes: Big Box stores has ruined most of the small business stores; putting them out of business. I go to big stores because I have no choice sometimes.
 
What do you think of the "big box" stores?
I rarely shop any of them, too far away to just go there on a whim. That, plus there's no way to know if they will have the item(s) you're looking for until you actually go inside their store. I do the majority of shopping(except most groceries) online, that way I know I'll be able to get what I'm looking for.
 
I think our big box stores may be substantially smaller than the US stores, just because of a matter of space..

this is my closest Big Box supermarket...we also have big box hardware, big box furniture stores etc....

tesco-2.jpg

mobile-banner-image-8.png

Tesco-4.webp

batley-uk-5th-october-2023-260nw-2372994547.jpg
 
Last edited:
Today, some stores are enormous, like Walmart. Home Depot, Lowes, and some grocery stores. There's a "big box" grocery store near me that has an aisle just for pickles-all kinds of pickles.
What do you think of the "big box" stores?

Honestly, I no longer go to stores - with the exception being a little corner shop near my home.

I have everything delivered to my home (today I had a $250 grocery shop delivered). I don't miss going to physical stores.
 

Back
Top