Walmart is the first place that comes to mind when you suddenly need to do some shopping. Even when you are redecorating your kitchen or closet, a trip to Walmart will help you to find everything you might need. Now a curious mind might wonder, is Walmart a supermarket or superstore?
Walmart is a superstore as it stores basically all sorts of products. In addition to providing the necessities like foods and beverages, their branch stores can give you access to pretty much anything that you want. From electronics to jewellery, movies to albums and footwears to garden supplies - Walmart has them all.
Due to their active presence in selling all sorts of household items and more, people often fail to perceive whether they are a superstore or supermarket. So, let's talk about supermarkets, superstores and their differences to see where Walmart fits in the best.
What Is A Supermarket?
A supermarket is usually a large store that focuses primarily on household and grocery items for their display services. They can be termed as an extension of the local grocery stores as they provide almost the same services. However, supermarkets have a larger storage space in general so they can store and provide more products at any given time.
Again, supermarkets come in specialized categories as well. For example - a financial supermarket will give you access to bonds, insurances, stocks, etc. all in one place. Basically, supermarkets are the stores that provide and specialize in any certain category of services.
What Is A Superstore?
If you could place multiple supermarkets at one spot and if all the supermarkets specialized in different services - it would be termed as a superstore. Instead of stocking up on just foods and drinks or just electronics stuff, they provide a variety of merchandise at once. They also cover a larger surface than both supermarkets and grocery stores with an even more spacious storage space at the back.
The superstores are divided into several sections such as the fresh produce section, clothing section, etc. As a result, people who shop there can easily buy whatever they need on a single trip only.
What Are The Differences Between Supermarkets And Superstores?
Now that you know what supermarkets and superstores are, it's time to find out why they are different from the other. A few of the key differences between supermarkets and superstores are stated below:
1. One-stop services
Both supermarkets and superstores are great for one-stop services as the buyers can get a lot of products in one place. However, you will only get grocery and household items from the supermarkets at any given time.
Meanwhile, superstores have a greater range of products than supermarkets that's not limited to grocery items only. You can get fertilizers for your garden, a sink for your kitchen/washroom and even a TV if you want.
2. Availability of fresh produces
Since supermarkets tend to specialize in foods and beverages, they bring in lots of fresh produce daily. You can always find fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products in a reputable supermarket. They bring in daily shipments of meat and fish products as well.
Furthermore, a good supermarket will always have a stand-by fishmonger, fruit-seller and even a butcher at times. Superstores often don't have these extra services as they specialize in several products at once.
3. Availability of chain stores
Superstores are part of a larger retailer arrangement to make shopping at their stores more convenient for everyone. They have several branches all over the country under the same name which promotes the same retail corporation.
On the other hand, supermarkets are often categorized under local stores. They don't have chain stores in multiple places and their services are available to a certain local region only.
Does Walmart Fall Under The Category Of Supermarkets Or Superstores?
Walmart has a huge product section containing a variable range of fruits, vegetables, meats and fishes. Some might call it a supermarket due to such availability of grocery items but they would be wrong. Walmart is in fact a convenience store, i.e. superstore and they currently have the largest chains of superstores in the world.
Let's have a look as to why Walmart is a superstore and not a supermarket:
1. Variety of merchandise
Instead of just your regular day-to-day items, you can find a variety of products in the Walmart stores. They have canned foods alongside fresh produce, electronics like rice cookers and mini freezes, sporting shoes and accessories, beverages etc.
If Walmart were a supermarket only, it wouldn't have access to all these random merchandise under a single roof. But since they do, they are termed as a superstore instead.
2. Larger storage space
Walmart have a larger storage area than normal grocery stores or markets. This is necessary as they need to keep a variety of products in stock.
Alongside normal vegetables, meat products and drinks, large shipments arrive at Walmart every day containing clothing, household, gardening items etc. As Walmart houses them all in their huge storage space, it's rare for them to run out of ordinary products.
3. Availability of branch-stores
You can pretty much find a Walmart at every corner if you live in the USA. As the largest retailer, they have countless branches throughout the country.
As a matter of fact, Walmart is now available worldwide and not just in America. Their chain stores are rapidly growing in the neighbouring countries and will continue to do so in the future.
What Benefits Does Walmart Have As A Superstore?
Being a superstore comes with multiple benefits. And Walmart is not any different. The popularity of Walmart adds a lot of different perks as well to the existing benefits. So, let's take a look at some of them to get a better understanding:
1. Availability of bigger discounts
Walmart is a wholesale marketing place since it's a superstore and thus, carries a huge amount of products at any given time. Thus, they would incur a huge loss if these products weren't sold in time.
That's why Walmart often offers big discounts to attract customers to buy these products in bulk. Besides, they also offer normal discounts all the time depending on the customer's buying habits and purchasing amount.
2. Home delivery
Even though Walmart has several branches and it's usually no longer than a two-minute drive, they have a home delivery service in place to help everyone out. Depending on traffic and weather conditions, the products are delivered right to the customer's doorstep.
To get home delivery, you just need to order via the app or their website. Once the list and timing are confirmed, you'll receive your products accordingly.
3. Premium membership discounts
This is a great perk that comes with superstores. Walmart offers a membership service to their regular customers that comes with a lot of extra benefits.
The customers with premium membership get certain discounts and offers from Walmart. You can also upgrade your membership to get even better offers from them.
4. 24/7 Availability
General supermarkets deal with lots of fresh produce, they are more active around the morning time since that's when the produce shipments hit the stores. The products continue to lose their freshness over time which is why the supermarkets close around evening.
However, with superstores like Walmart, fresh produce are only a small part of the larger product section. They have an assortment of all types of supplies including canned foods, so you can get what you need at all times.
5. Getting everything done all at once
It can be quite frustrating to go to separate stores to buy different kinds of products separately. But with Walmart i.e. a superstore, you can get everything sorted out in a single trip only.
If you need baby lotions and diapers, visit the baby products section and if you need a new rack for your stove-top, look around in the kitchen supplies section. You can easily buy weeks worth of shopping over at a superstore and that too, all at once.
6. Bonus points for every purchase
Finally, the cherry on top of a perk that allows you to buy stuff for free! Well, kind of. Walmart has an app of their own and with every purchase, you get bonus points in your account.
Once you have earned enough bonus points, you can redeem them and be eligible for several discounts and offers. And if you have a premium membership of Walmart, the rate of overall discounts will go even higher!
So, is Walmart a supermarket or superstore? Hopefully, the answer is crystal clear by now. Walmart is a superstore that specializes in all-around product services as a retailer. From baby foods to automobile parts and garbage cans to air fresheners, Walmart is your go-to neighbourhood store for everything. And with added benefits and feasibility, superstores like Walmart are the best way to shop in bulk and save some energy, time and hard-earned bucks.
Hope this article was able to quench your curiosity. Thanks for reading till the end. Have a wonderful day.
