Walmart

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- With pricing studies, such as this one, revealing little difference between Walmart and Target, Walmart is looking to distinguish itself from the competition. The retailer announced that it is reinvigorating its price leadership promise, bringing back products its customers have asked for and simplifying its ad match policy. 

Walmart has long shunned outright sponsorship of a NASCAR team, while such other retailers as Target, Office Depot, Bass Pro Shops, Home Depot and Lowe’s have embraced the sport with much success. With most NASCAR fans already shopping its stores, Walmart has adopted for a more surgical approach, which is evident again this year as the company executes promotional events at stores in markets where races are being held.

Walmart may be the nation’s largest grocer, but it’s not because of the compelling presentation of fresh produce or appetizing meats. The stuff is cheap, sure, but the quality isn’t always there, and even when it is, the manner in which products are packaged and merchandised detracts from quality perception. Then there are the issues that arise with so many shoppers, not to mention their unattended kids, pawing through displays of tomatoes, bell peppers and grapes. Items get bruised, or roll on the floor and get run over by carts.

NEW YORK -- Target continues to pull ahead of Walmart in the value retail category, according to a recent Harris poll. The company was named the 2011 Harris Poll Equitrend value retail brand of the year. This is the second consecutive year Target has led the way in the value retail category.

Target lead the way with a ranking of 74.1, while Walmart had a ranking of 70.8. The industry average in the value retail category was 67.3.

New York City -- A poll released Thursday by Harris Interactive named Target Corp. as its Value Retail Brand of the Year.

According to the 2011 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study, Target has the strongest consumer brand equity among retail brands. Overall, awards are given in each of 46 different categories.

This is the second consecutive year Target has led the way in the Value Retail category, with the gap between runner-up Wal-Mart increasing.  

The complexities of running a retail business combined with low margins prevalent in the mass market leave little room for error when it comes to achieving operating profitability. For any retailer to produce a profit is quite an accomplishment, and in the case of Walmart it is even more impressive when factoring in some of the extracurricular activities that go on in its stores.

A new Harris Poll EquiTrend study out this week shows Target, not Walmart, as the Value Retail Brand of the Year. That would be bad enough news for Walmart given the company’s prospects in the United States are closely tied to its reputation for low prices, but this is the second year in a row Target has been named the top Value Retail Brand and the gap with Walmart even widened this year.

NEW YORK, NY -- Walmart has endured its fair share of criticism in the press, and now a new study reveals that the world's largest retailer has garnered some negative views in the realm of social media.

Accordin to Amplicate, an online opinion collating resource that claims to account for more than 80 million public opinions of social media users, there has been over 9,985 negative Walmart opinions (http://amplicate.com/hate/walmart) expressed on Twitter, Facebook and Amplicate within the last 3 months.