Walmart's Remodeled Stores a Turn-Off for Upscale Shoppers

Last Updated Aug 10, 2010 2:00 PM EDT

Walmart (WMT) has a plan to try to lure back some of the more upscale shoppers who gravitated to its aisles during the downturn, but are now leaving again -- the company is remodeling all of its stores. Unfortunately, so far the new look reminds some of a blue version of Target, and has resulted in sinking sales and customer confusion about whether Walmart is still about low prices or if maybe it's going more upscale.

The remodels are known at Walmart as Project Impact, an effort to remodel all U.S. stores between 2008 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQK4Bl3s_I 2013. Though so far the changes haven't seemed to help sales, Walmart has kept the remodel rolling. Besides a softer blue tone in the signage, the remodels include finally changing the store signs to reflect the company's official name since 2008, Walmart, not Wal-Mart as of old. You can see them changing out the signs in the photo at right.

Everything about the remodel, including the new name, seem kinda hipper, more dot-com friendly...and a hair more refined. It includes wider aisles, better signage, fewer displays clogging the aisles and improved lighting. Which has some worried that customers are being driven away because they think Walmart is repositioning its prices upwards. That's not part of the plan -- it's just a store refresher. But the style may be putting customers off.

As Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates in New York, told the Columbus Dispatch, "They can't appear expensive. It's got everyone confused."

In its attempts to upgrade its store look, Walmart has to walk a fine line. Many of the stores can definitely use a revamp -- all those hordes tromping through do make a store look worn-down in pretty short order. It's not like they could leave the stores as-is forever to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbQK4Bl3s_I avoid confusing customers. But the

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But the new look hasn't been tied to any marketing that introduces the remodel program to the public, leaving them to form their own impressions about what it means. That's a mistake Walmart could easily rectify as the remodels pick up steam. More than 200 stores have been remodeled, but many more are coming -- Project Impact is supposed t o hit the halfway mark by the fall.

It's an opportunity for a feel-good ad: "Look at how we're sprucing up our stores for you!" Walmart shouldn't pass it up.

Photo via Flickr user journeyguy

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