The Wal-Mart Culture

The so called Wal-Mart culture relies on the sameness of its stores. Its advertising targets the low to mid income families who find comfort in the sameness and predictability of cheapness in each store. Stores provide a one stop solution to shopping, providing everything from groceries to bicycles at the lowest prices in town, making Wal-Mart the first choice for many shoppers. Each town with a Wal-Mart becomes a Wal-Mart town. Supercenters essentially act as an anchor store with their high shopper turnover, enticing other big box retailers to set up shop nearby. In this way the network of corporate and media influence redistributes the patterns of cultural exchange. Perhaps what is most feared by anti-globalists is the redistribution of local influence to a centrally commanded global policy. What was once a village or community affair is becoming, or has become a national and global agenda. Changes at Wal-Mart’s headquarters would affect several thousand communities and millions of people, all of whom have little or no voice in the decision.