Wal-Mart.com from the Inside Out
Written: Dec 20, 2001
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When Wal-Mart.com first opened, I was working at the Wal-Mart Homeoffice. For those of you who do not live in Arkansas, the Homeoffice is the Main Headquarters of the biggest Retail Chain in the World.
Yes, it's in Bentonville, Arkansas. And you thought we were all just redneck hillbiliies, well we're not. Get your mind right, we have some of the richest people in the World right here in Northwest Arkansas.
Anyway, I was in the ISD department. This is where it all goes down. Wal-Mart is also home to the largest Network in the World. It is a massive floor full of huge machines that click with green lights, like your hard drive. Except there are 10 isles of them, with well over 1,000 per row! The floor is ventilated to keep the computers cool. It's like a work of art! Rooms full of wiring and equipment!
So, Wal-Mart runs this massive computer system along with a massive database with EVERY possible piece of information about what they have sold and who they have sold it to available at our finger tips. To say the least I was impressed.
On to the story about Wal-Mart.com..
The rumor in my department was that the NEW! Wal-Mart.com would be home to over 600,000 items. In case you are wondering this is 6 times a normal store's number of items. If you have ever been to a Wal-Mart Supercenter you know that is a lot of items!
So rumors were floating around. And some of us were taken down stairs to answer calls about the site! Me? Matt Hudson fielding phone calls about the biggest site ever? The Buzz about the store was too much!
The store opens..
We begin fielding phone calls. We are being asked questions about everything from, "How do I login?" to, "Where are my online photos?"
The site was great. Easy to use, simple, fastloading, the works! I was thoroughly impressed. Considering I'm a desinger myself, this is quite a feat. The store had EVERYTHING!
The bad news..
We soon came to find out that the online store was going to become a tottally seperate company. I thought this was a good idea at first, but once I saw the changes that were made, I was disappointed to say the least.
The juice..
The store offered very little in the way of selection. The search barely works! It doesn't offer half as many cool features as it used to. When ISD had the site, you could get online photos, customized wish lists, and much more! Some of these things are still there, but not even as many. A lot of the fun of the site is gone.
The number pictures on the site have dropped tremendously! And the help system is weak. It is better to go to a store than to get online. This is a sad story, because I had so much hope for it. An average Wal-Mart store has many more items, and is much easier to shop. Although I will say that avoiding the crowds is a pleasant change of pace.
For all of it's bad, the store does still offer great delivery and support. Wal-Mart's distribution network is HUGE to say the least. So you know you'll get your package, and if you don't, the Wal-Mart motto always applies. You can always get your money back.
Possibly the best part of the online store is that it is backed by the regular store. You don't have to wrap your package back up and send it through the mail to get your return. You can always take it to your local store! This is a great advantage for Wal-Mart. Amazon could never offer this!
Eventually, I will shop this store all the time, but until the selection gets better, you'll see me shopping eBay.com or Amazon.com.
Price..
The price is of Wal-Mart. Having a huge distribution network is very advantageous to shipping prices. Wal-Mart will always offer great prices. Wal-Mart.com is no different. But the selection is weak, and you just can't offer me prices cheap enough if I don't want the product.
Recommended:
No
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About the Author
Member: Matt Hudson
Location: Fayetteville, AR
Reviews written: 66
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me: Computer programmer, a political nerd, a business executive, and an artist all mixed into one.
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