December 1, 2005
WAL-MART SUFFERS STEEP DECLINE IN PUBLIC IMAGE
Washington, DC – The first national survey of public attitudes and opinions about Wal-Mart by Zogby International finds American adults hold an increasingly negative view of Wal-Mart. The poll found 38 percent, or nearly 4 in 10 Americans, hold an unfavorable opinion of Wal-Mart, and 46 percent of Americans believe Wal-Mart’s public image is worse than it was 1 year ago.
The poll found that 56 percent of American adults agreed with the statement – “”Wal-Mart was bad for America. It may provide low prices, but these prices come with a high moral and economic cost.”” In contrast, only 39 percent of American adults agreed with the opposing statement – “”I believe Wal-Mart is good for America. It provides low prices and saves consumers money every day.””
“”Despite two high-priced image makeovers, Wal-Mart’s public image is in a tailspin. Over the last year, Wal-Mart’s image has declined at an alarming rate with the American people. Unless Wal-Mart addresses these growing concerns, the company will face a mounting public backlash,”” stated Paul Blank, campaign director for WakeUpWalMart.com.
The Zogby poll, commissioned by WakeUpWalMart.com, was a national telephone survey of 1,012 adults conducted by Zogby International from 11/15/05 through 11/18/05 and had a margin of error of +/- 3.2%.
The effect of the WakeUpWalMart.com campaign over the last year can be best assessed by comparing several questions from the new Zogby poll to results from a similar national poll conducted by Lake, Snell, Perry in January 2005.
Wal-Mart Overall Favorability
In terms of overall favorability, in the span of about 11 months, Wal-Mart experienced a decline of 18 percentage points in the number of American adults who view the company favorably. Most striking is a 15 percentage point decline in the number of Americans who hold a “”very favorable opinion.””
Jan 05 Nov 05 Difference
Very Favorable 45 30 -15
Somewhat Favorable 31 28 -3
Fav 76 58 -18
Somewhat Unfavorable 11 19 +8
Very Unfavorable 9 19 +10
Unfav 20 38 +18
No Opinion/Not sure 4 4 –
Wal-Mart Shopping Frequency
The Wal-Mart shopping frequency of American adults has also changed. A comparison of the two polls suggests a decrease of 18 percentage points among high frequency Wal-Mart shoppers (i.e. weekly and 1-2/ month), but an increase of 12 percent in the number of respondents who shop at Wal-Mart less frequently. Most interesting, there is a 5 percent increase in the number of American adults who choose not to shop at Wal-Mart. These results, however, do not directly impact Wal-Mart sales, as consumers who still choose to shop at Wal-Mart may have simply increased their overall values of their purchase.
Jan 05 Nov 05 Difference
Weekly 33 24 -9
1-2/Month 36 27 -9
Several times a year 13 16 +3
Hardly ever 11 20 +9
Never 8 13 +5
Wal-Mart Favorability Based on Recent Events
Recent news events are having an impact on Wal-Mart’s rising negative image. In asking people whether or not recent news events have altered their feelings of favorability/unfavorability towards Wal-Mart, there is a growing perception that Wal-Mart is less favorable. Since January 2005, 28 percent more American adults have heard, seen, or read something about Wal-Mart that makes them feel less favorable toward the company.
Jan 05 Nov 05 Difference
Much more favorable 10 11 +1
Somewhat more favorable 18 11 -7
More favorable 18 22 -6
Somewhat less favorable 13 29 +16
Much less favorable 14 26 +12
Less favorable 27 55 +28
No impact/not sure 43 24 –19
Wal-Mart’s Favorability & Public Image Compared to Competitors
In terms of favorability, Americans hold very different opinions of two of the largest retailers – Wal-Mart and Target. For example, 73 percent of respondents hold a favorable opinion of Target versus 13 percent who hold an unfavorable opinion, while 58 percent of respondents hold a favorable opinion of Wal-Mart versus 38 percent who hold an unfavorable opinion. And compared to one year ago, a large majority of Americans (65%) agree that Wal-Mart has a more negative public image now than compared to last year, while 28 percent disagreed. In contrast, and just as a baseline comparison, only 14 percent of Americans believe that Target’s public image is more negative, while 55 percent disagreed.
These results are more striking in light of the significant financial commitment by Wal-Mart over the last year to try and improve its public image.
America’s Wal-Mart Debate
The debate about whether or not Wal-Mart is good or bad for America is occurring. In a comparison of two statements, 56 percent of Americans agreed “”Wal-Mart is bad for America”” (statement B), with only 39 percent of Americans stating Wal-Mart is “”good for America”” (statement A).
Statement A – I believe that Wal-Mart is good for America. It provides low prices and saves consumers money every day.
Statement B – I believe that Wal-Mart is bad for America. It may provide low prices, but these prices come with a high moral and economic cost for consumers.
Further results indicate that 6 in 10 American adults believe Wal-Mart is seen as a retail monopoly that threatens the American economy, 61 percent of Americans are concerned that Wal-Mart is too powerful an economic force in America, and 63 percent of Americans agree that the impact of the Wal-Mart business model should be investigated by our nation’s elected political leaders.
Questions Referenced from Zogby Poll
I am going to read to you a list of stores. Please tell me if your overall opinion of each is very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or a very unfavorable.
Target
1. Very favorable 34
2. Somewhat favorable 39
3. Somewhat unfavorable 7
4. Very unfavorable 6
5. NF/Not sure (do not read) 15
Wal-Mart
1. Very favorable 30
2. Somewhat favorable 28
3. Somewhat unfavorable 19
4. Very unfavorable 19
5. NF/Not sure (do not read) 4
In general, thinking back on what you have recently seen, heard or read about Wal-Mart in the last few months, does it make you much more favorable, somewhat more favorable, somewhat less favorable, or much less favorable toward Wal-Mart?
1. Much more favorable 11
2. Somewhat more favorable 11
3. Somewhat less favorable 29
4. Much less favorable 26
5. Not sure (Do not read) 24
In general, based on what you have recently seen, heard, or read about Wal-Mart, do you believe Wal-Mart’s public image is much better, slightly better, slightly worse, much worse, or about the same than it was 1 year ago?
1. Much better 5
2. Slightly better 7
3. Slightly worse 28
4. Much worse 18
5. About the same 37
6. Not sure (Do not read) 5
Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that Wal-Mart has a more negative public image now than compared to last year?
1. Strongly agree 36
2. Somewhat agree 29
3. Somewhat disagree 17
4. Strongly disagree 11
5. Not sure (Do not read) 7
Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, or strongly disagree that Target has a more negative public image now than compared to last year?
1. Strongly agree 4
2. Somewhat agree 10
3. Somewhat disagree 27
4. Strongly disagree 28
5. Not sure (Do not read) 31
Wal-Mart is America’s largest employer with 1.3 million workers, 3700 stores, 289 billion dollars in sales, and $10 billion dollars in profits. Are you very concerned, somewhat concerned, not too concerned, or not all concerned that Wal-Mart is too powerful an economic force in America?
1. Very concerned 33
2. Somewhat concerned 30
3. Not too concerned 15
4. Not all concerned 20
5. Not sure (Do not read) 2
Do you, personally, strongly agree, somewhat agree, or do not agree at all that Wal-Mart is a retail monopoly that threatens the future health of the American economy?
1. Strongly agree 33
2. Somewhat agree 28
3. Don’t agree at all 35
4. Not sure (Do not read) 5
Some critics suggest Wal-Mart is having a negative social and economic effect on the country, others argue Wal-Mart has a positive social and economic effect. Do you, personally, strongly agree, somewhat agree, or do not agree at all that our nation’s elected political leaders should investigate the effects Wal-Mart is having on the American economy and society?
1. Strongly agree 34
2. Somewhat agree 28
3. Don’t agree at all 34
4. Not sure (Do not read) 4