Walmart removing jewelry counters?

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rwsandiego
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Re: Walmart removing jewelry counters?

Post by rwsandiego »

Super S wrote: September 12th, 2018, 6:42 pm
cjd wrote: September 12th, 2018, 4:35 pm The Walmart in my town just finished a remodel, and I'm pretty sure they removed the jewelry counter. There does still seem to be a fairly decent sized selection of jewelry, but the department does not seem to be staffed.

As part of the remodel they also moved the fabric department, and the new fabric counter is smaller, and not usually staffed unless someone needs it cut. The sporting goods counter is usually staffed, the paint counter I assume is only staffed if someone needs paint mixed, by whoever is in that area. There is not usually someone around there in the evening other than stocking the area around it.

I remember years ago, most Walmarts had a separate outside entrance at the greenhouse garden center area and a checkout counter out there. But then they closed off those exterior greenhouse entrances and required to go through the indoor part of the garden center to access the greenhouse or check out. Usually that indoor checkout counter is staffed at the store here, but only one line open. During the remodel they added two more checkouts to the exisiting two. After a certain time of night, the door exiting that side of the store is locked and only the front checkouts are open. I'm not sure if the doors going out to the greenhouse are open at night or not, but I would assume they are locked as well to discourage theft or loitering outside.
The Walmart closest to my house still has a separate garden center entrance and checkout, but it is used only seasonally. I am not sure if warmer climates staff these differently or not. I could see a case for staffing year round in a place like Florida or Hawaii.
Here in Phoenix it is a mixed bag. Some still have a Garden Center entrance with a staffed register and others don't. Of course here the issue is reversed - in summer the cashier will get heat stroke.
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Re: Walmart removing jewelry counters?

Post by arizonaguy »

Walmart appears to be moving its store base from a one-size-fits all situation where most stores were open 24 hours a day with more or less a standardized merchandise mix that only varied based upon the size of the store to one where only a handful of stores in an area are open 24 hours a day or carry departments where products aren't purchased on a weekly or monthly basis.

Walmart figures that it can keep most shoppers while reducing labor costs as it figures a decent percentage of its jewelry customers will still purchase jewelry either online (shipped to home or shipped to store) or at one of the stores in the area that still has a jewelry department.
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Re: Walmart removing jewelry counters?

Post by Super S »

rwsandiego wrote: September 12th, 2018, 11:17 pm
Here in Phoenix it is a mixed bag. Some still have a Garden Center entrance with a staffed register and others don't. Of course here the issue is reversed - in summer the cashier will get heat stroke.
Here, there is a regular checkstand inside. I am not sure if they have one in the outdoor portion (I never enter or exit there), I know that the Fred Meyer down the road has a full register that they wheel into place when the garden center doors are open.
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Re: Walmart removing jewelry counters?

Post by cjd »

Our Walmart here closed off the outside entrance to the garden center. The door is still there but always has a display of plants in front of it. To go to the garden center you have to go to inside the indoor part first and then make a left through the doors going outside. Or go straight on until you get to the doors at the back of the indoor part. The only way to access the garden center from outside is to go to the back of the store. But I believe that entrance is only used for picking up large items like mulch or outdoor furniture. The checkstand outside was removed a long time ago so any purchases have to be made at one of the checkstands inside.
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Re: Walmart removing jewelry counters?

Post by storewanderer »

cjd wrote: November 4th, 2018, 4:22 pm Our Walmart here closed off the outside entrance to the garden center. The door is still there but always has a display of plants in front of it. To go to the garden center you have to go to inside the indoor part first and then make a left through the doors going outside. Or go straight on until you get to the doors at the back of the indoor part. The only way to access the garden center from outside is to go to the back of the store. But I believe that entrance is only used for picking up large items like mulch or outdoor furniture. The checkstand outside was removed a long time ago so any purchases have to be made at one of the checkstands inside.
The Wal Mart locally was just remodeled and has 3 standard checkstands inside garden and 1 outside garden. I've never seen them all open.
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