How does one describe the gift that is Walmart to anyone? Let alone a person from another country. To many, Walmart is a mecca; a shopper's nirvana, on a budget. There is basically nothing you can't get at Walmart (especially the Super Centers). And most of the things at Walmart are for a few pennies less than most places.
Of course we all know the real reason to shop at Walmart... people watching. And behavior studies. Always have a journal at Walmart... the things you will see. It's legendary. You can't get that kind of free entertainment at Target.
Redditor u/Filmologic wanted to know how we could best describe one of America's landmark stores by asking.... Americans, how would you describe Walmart to Europeans?
Do the Dew!
You ever just want to spend an afternoon cruising around on a scooter, drinking a 64oz container of Mountain Dew, just perusing a bunch of deals?
Somewhere, a dentist cringes, at your child size Mountain Dew.
ASDA....
Walmart owns ASDA. Same products from the same brands and the same slogan, even the in-store announcements are mostly the same. I'm from the Midwest, and when I spent a semester abroad in the UK I was shocked at how American it was.
Imagine ASDA, but blue and with bad lighting, then put a small automotive center, McDonalds, news agent, cheap optometrist, and a nail salon under the same roof, and that's Walmart. AndyWinds
One Stop Dumb
Its meant to be a one stop shopping center with food, clothing, electronics, etc. Since it is a HUGE company they have been able to really drive down prices. The low prices mean it tends to attract people of lower socio-economic classes than we see in similar stores.
Because humans are really judgmental, we really look down on those less fortunate than ourselves and mock how dumb the people of Walmart are.
Cheap!
Giphy
Cheap supermarket with better selection of random crap and sell guns. May have a fast food chain inside. ReallyLongElbows
REWE First.
You know how if you want several different types of things you need to like.... go to ikea for a lamp, and then media market for a video game, then Rewe for rice for the recipe you're making for dinner, then Rossman for your prescription and some handsoap? Here you just go to Walmart.
"people of Walmart"
Not just the pricing, location and branding. Target and Meijer and Kroger are relatively competitive on price, but they set up in upper-middle class areas. And Target especially is leaning hard into the MILF demographic
Also, theres plenty of poor people that aren't "people of Walmart". To be a proper Person of Walmart, you need at least 300 pounds of excess fat, liver failure and/or lung cancer, a poorly done tattoo or 10, and a Trump bumper sticker. I'd argue the typical Person of Walmart is actually, on paper, middle class, just with a complete inability to plan.
So Many Walmarts!
I have 6 Walmart stores all less than 30min drive from my house(not counting the SAMS Club) Almost all are open 24/7. We have one that has 2 floors. Groceries, underwear, cigs, beer, dog food, car battery, new fishing rod and a ps4 game at 1am? No problem. Oh, u can also grab a whole roasted chicken to go for a snack.
Sad Staff.
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Walmart is a store where, in the US, a full-time employee still qualifies for subsidized housing and food stamps.
Amazon Style....
Sort of like Amazon, but in a physical store. They sell everything pretty much, and it's pretty cheap. Not as bad as people talk about it. Target is the only other physical store I can think of that is similar.
The Regulars...
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Cheap, crowded, and there's a slight chance you might run into your fifth grade teacher wearing pjs and a snorkel.
"My" Walmart Only!
You need to visit my Walmart. In a 12 foot section of shelving units, most of it is bare. My local Walmart is the only Walmart within a 4 hour drive radius and they're CONSTANTLY empty and their employees don't know crap. It's embarrassing and honestly they should do our community some good and shut down, or fire the manager.
They even had to shutdown for a week because of a massive flood in the area and you'd think they'd finally catch up, get their crap together and stay on top of the ordering? Heck no, still empty as hell.
Not to mention they got caught after the wildfire evacuation selling tainted products from the fire. They got in massive crap for that.
under $300....
Every product generally under $300 (most under $5) that you've ever imagined made in China, plus a grocery, toy, McDonalds, hardware, garden, electronics, craft, sports, jewelry, clothing shop, in a store the size of Liechtenstein.
Made in China.
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In 1990, I had the pleasure of escorting a group of exchange students from the Russian boondocks to a 24 hour Walmart Supercenter the size of an airplane hanger. One cheekily said:
Just like Russia: everything's made in China, and if you really want it, it's out of stock.
coolidge_fan
So Much Good!
Don't forget the car tire center.
And hair care, nail salon, fast food restaurants
Banking, guns, gardening stuff, gaming lounges, booze, photo processing, taxes (Many peoples, Sorry! flooded with comments)
Gas station (/u/FizzyBeverage)
Hunting/fishing supplies (u/holymuffins)
Eye care center (u/chunwookie)
They do have almost everything. I have several friends that I don't think have gone to a store besides Walmart in years. I used to live between a Walmart and a Home Depot, and I don't think in all of the years I lived there I went to store that wasn't one of those two.
Lowest Denominator.
Everything you could want at 1/2 the price and 1/10 the quality.
I was about to describe it as "the lowest form of retail in the United States" then I remembered Dollar General & Dollar Tree exist.
Blame Canada.
Don't forget the non-existent customer service.
You can definitely get the exact same thing cheaper at Walmart than most other places. Also, their return policy is legendary if you're willing to use it.
Also, I'm Canadian. Not sure if that changes anything.
Like absolutely giant.
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I've been to Walmart, as a European, and I live to tell the tale. They sell GUNS. In a supermarket! Also that was in a small town and the store was still HUGE. Like absolutely giant. Basically a small mall on its own. I've never seen such a supermarket in Europe.
Viola, it's a Walmart.
So imagine all those small shops that specialize in different wares and services, from clothing to electronics, from jewelry to crafts. Now gather them all in one place. Then turn on the compactor switch. then crush them, grind them, mangle them and their dreams and then add guns. Viola, it's a Walmart.
The Sunshine Store.
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If Florida was a store.
Ex-Floridian, please take this humble fake gold 🏆🏆🏆
I knew someone was gonna say this lmao.
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Ok, who is watching the clock? Those seconds aren't going to count themselves. The only way to understand time is to be its witness. Although that can get depressing. Let's focus on the light and cool.
History...
Calculate Figure It Out GIF by OriginalsGiphy"If you are an 80-year-old American, you have lived through approximately 1/3 of our nation's entire history."
Those Days...
"The 80s were 40 years ago."
"This is what messes me up because I was born in 82 and graduated high school in 2000 so for some reason my brain is stuck on the 80's being twenty years ago. The 70's thirty years ago etc etc. I have to stop and realize sometimes that my concept of how long ago things happened is way off."
Time goes by...
"We observe that light travels at 186,000 miles a second, but given the vast size of the observable universe, that's a snail's pace. But from the point of view of a particle of light, time doesn't even exist."
"Time slows down as you approach the speed of light, and theoretically stops completely when you reach the speed of light."
Years Gone By...
"MLK Jr. and Anne Frank were born in the same year."
"Betty White was born in 1922. Automatically pre-sliced packaged bread loaves became commercially available in 1928. Betty White is six years older than sliced bread."
Long Live the Queen!
queen elizabeth images GIFGiphy"The queen and Marilyn Monroe would've been the same age."
"And Marilyn Monroe and Andy Griffith were born on the same day!"
- osme1
I swear Liz is going to outlive dirt. Wait, I believe she already has. Well she won't be alone, she'll have Betty White. At least she better have Betty. Time is nothing without Queen Betty.
TV Time
Season 2 Omg GIF by Paramount+Giphy"Happy Days was a TV show made in the 1970s-80s about teenagers in the 1950s. Similarly, That 70s Show was made in the 90s-00s about teenagers in the 70s. If a similar show were to be made today, it would be about teenagers in the 2000s."
- VVillyD
A Croc
"If a T-Rex imagined a creature as ancient as the T-Rex is to us, it would be a Stegosaurus. If that Stegosaurus imagined a creature as ancient as the Stegosaurus is to us, it would be a Crocodile. If that Crocodile imagined a creature as ancient as that Crocodile is to us, it would be a Shark."
On the Clock
"On a twenty four hour clock the amount of time that humans have been on the earth would total around five seconds."
"How about this one: If Homo Habilus first appeared at midnight, 24 hours ago, that means the first Homo Sapiens appeared at 9:25 PM, or about 2 and a half hours ago. The first human civilization, in lower Mesopotamia, appeared at 11:57 PM, or about 3 minutes ago."
"The Western Roman Empire fell at 11:59 PM, or 1 minute ago. Everything that has happened since - the Crusades, the Plague, the discovery of the New World, the world wars, all of it - has happened in the last minute of human existence."
And that's just OUR Sun...
"The span of our lives are so insignificantly small that our Sun will last another 5 billion years. That's 9 zeros people. Our eldest live to around 100 in the best places. That's 50,000,000 (50 million) times longer than any person can reasonably expect to live. And that's just OUR Sun. The universe as a whole has probably existed for magnitudes longer than that already and will continue to exist until the end of time as we know it."
Tell Me a Story
william shakespeare GIF by will herringGiphy"We know what a good storyteller Shakespeare was but there were Greek playwrights who wrote shows nearly 2,000 years earlier that are pretty good, too."
I hate time. Only because I'm petty and irritated of the amount I squandered. That's neither here nor there though. Time marches on and continues to amaze. I'll keep watching.
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