Roger Saunders

Walmart Greeters Get New Assignment

January 31, 2012

FROM RETAILWIRE:
A lot of changes have taken place at Walmart over the years since Sam Walton's passing, but the latest may have him flipping over in his grave. Walmart will be moving greeters from its lobbies and closer to cash registers in a move designed to better assist shoppers and apparently save the company money. What do you think of Walmart's move to change the role of its greeters?      [more...]

The "Walmart greeter" is far less important today, than at the time that Mr. Sam put them in place. The greeters served a role at that time to provide familiarization to a store/channel that was still relatively new to consumers.

Today, with over 3 out of 4 consumers visiting Walmart for some type of shopping/purchasing experience in the past 90 days (BIGinsight Consumer Intentions & Actions survey), placing this associate in a more centralized position in the register area, makes perfect sense. With added grocery volume in the carts, the associate is also positioned to guide and potentially calm the harried shopper.

The human touch remains in place, serving as "Thanks for coming" appreciation, "Did you find everything you needed?" inquiry, and a "Traffic cop to help people speed through checkout line" -- a priority for most shoppers.