Walmart U.S. focuses on 26 million ‘busy family’ households needing to save time and money
by July 12, 2016 2:09 pm 1,310 views
There are 26 million households Walmart U.S. deems as “busy families” and most are in need of low prices and convenient shopping formats, according to Tony Rogers, chief marketing officer for Walmart U.S.
He said this group wields an annual retail spend of $600 billion, or one-third of the industry’s total $1.8 trillion expected this year.
Rogers, during his address Tuesday (July 12) to suppliers at the Bentonville-Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce WalStreet Breakfast, said Walmart sees busy families, predominantly larger than four members, as its biggest target customers. He said the retailer has divided shoppers into four categories: busy families, active savers, older unconnected and urban connected.
He said busy families register the highest with Walmart’s core mission to save people time and money. He said this marketing demographic is comprised of Millenials and Gen X families with at least two kids in the household. Rogers said 73% of them range from ages 20 to 50, and 65% of them are in the middle class.
Other characteristics about this busy family target group include:
• 37% earn between $50,000 and $100,000 annually;
• 28% earn more than $100,000;
• 53% have college degrees; and
• 37% are multicultural, with 18% Hispanic.
Looking deeper at this demographic, Rogers said 81% of busy families say they would live better if they could save money on the things they want and need – again, in line with the retailer’s core mission.
Roughly 73% said having less stress in their life would help them live better and 63% said they could live better if they have more time in their day to spend as they choose. This group agreed that time is money and they have short attention spans and little patience for waiting.
The other shopper demographics on Walmart’s radar include the “active savers.” There are 43 million households in this group and they are a diverse mix of ages from singles to couples. They have no kids in the household. One-third of them are Millennials and nearly two-thirds are boomers. Almost half of them are in the middle class. This group sees saving time and money as moderately important.
The “older unconnected” demographic involves 21 million households and is larger over the age of 55 with no kids in the household. This group does not shop online and 64% are low income. This group ranks saving money as more important than saving time.
The other demographic on Walmart’s radar are the “urban connected” which involves about 30 million households. They are also a diverse mix by age but live in densely populated urban areas and 75% have no kids in the household. About half of them are over age 45 and 61% are in categorized as middle class. This connected, tech savvy group puts a higher priority on convenience and time savings over lower prices.
Looking more broadly at consumer attitudes, Rogers said 78% of shoppers want to save money, but it can not be at the expense of their time. He said saving money is important to most shoppers whether they live paycheck to paycheck or if saving for retirement.
Rogers touted Walmart’s online grocery option as one of the biggest ways it is serving busy families with time savings and convenience. He said WalmartPay is now available nationwide and another way the retailer is delivering a seamless shopping experience. He said work continues around in-store pickup and expediting that service for shoppers to save on wait times for package retrievals.