Walmart Scaling Back Electronics Department to Make Room for Fishing Poles
You may have noticed a larger electronics section in your local Wally World. That's because over the past couple of years, Walmart devoted about 20 percent more floor space to push home entertainment items, and in particular television sets. But with consumers showing little interest in 3D TVs, and with popular electronic gadgets shrinking in size, Walmart has made the decision to scale back its electronics department and use the space to sell things like fishing poles, fabric, and full-figure fashions, according to Reuters.
"It's still a vibrant category but much smaller items are being sold," said Rosalind Brewer, president of Walmart East.
Walmart said it will still sell the same number of products, but in a smaller physical space. The company is looking to reduce about 2,000 square feet per store from the category, resulting in an overall reduction of 7.2 million square feet across all stores.
While Walmart didn't come out and say it, you have to wonder how much of this decision was made based on shoppers flocking online for electronics. It's interesting to note that sales have fallen for seven consecutive quarters in Walmart stores that have been open for at least a year. In addition, Best Buy has made a big effort to land popular electronic items in the past couple of years, including Amazon's Kindle and of course Apple's iPad.
"It's still a vibrant category but much smaller items are being sold," said Rosalind Brewer, president of Walmart East.
Walmart said it will still sell the same number of products, but in a smaller physical space. The company is looking to reduce about 2,000 square feet per store from the category, resulting in an overall reduction of 7.2 million square feet across all stores.
While Walmart didn't come out and say it, you have to wonder how much of this decision was made based on shoppers flocking online for electronics. It's interesting to note that sales have fallen for seven consecutive quarters in Walmart stores that have been open for at least a year. In addition, Best Buy has made a big effort to land popular electronic items in the past couple of years, including Amazon's Kindle and of course Apple's iPad.
