Walmart

Walmart Stores In White Neighborhoods Are ‘Better’: Study Claims

Andy Reich, a Columbia University Assistant Professor of Sociology says his study has revealed not all Walmarts are created equal. To simplify his findings, he says, White and rich neighborhoods have better Walmarts than Black and poor neighborhoods.

“People used words like ‘unorganized’, ‘nasty’ and ‘worst’ to describe stores in communities of color much more than they used those words to describe Walmarts in Whiter communities,” Reich said in a Skype interview.

The study’s author doesn’t think Walmart is intentionally making stores in White neighborhoods better than those in minority neighborhoods or has an racial motivations.
Reich says it come down to money and competition.

“Walmart is in the business of making money so when it goes into a wealthier, whiter neighborhood, where it does have to compete with more retailers, it’s forced to make more investments in staffing,” he explained.