Buying Behavior

 

Jenalia Moreno, “Wal-Mart Gives its Supermercado Concept a Tryout,” Houston Chronicle, April 30, 2009. David Morse, “Houston, We Have a Problem with Wal-Mart,” Retail Wire, May 1, 2009. Unlike most grocers, that limit their Hispanic-oriented offerings to a single, insufficient aisle, Wal-Mart has initiated its Supermercado concept, followed soon by a Mas Club that matches the Sam’s Club warehouse business model. The first Supermarcado de Wal-Mart is in a 40,000 square foot converted Neighborhood Market; its opening day featured food and beverage samples overseen by a mariachi band belting out Spanish-language ballads. The Supermarcados will include no ethnic aisles, a smaller frozen food section, and fewer brands of peanut butter, a generally unpopular product among Hispanic consumers. But bakery will be larger, and an additional kitchen will serve nothing but tacos. All of the signage is in both English and Spanish. Critics accuse Wal-Mart of racism for opening a separate Spanish-oriented grocery store. Yet Spanish grocery stores have existed for years, if on a smaller scale, in the form of neighborhood markets rather than a mass market retailer such as Wal-Mart. A grocery that suits the tastes of the local community can draw customers into the store; in this case, Hispanic customers can obtain products easily that would otherwise be difficult to for them to find.