Big-Box Retailers. Benefit or Detriment to small businesses?

We’ve all said this at one time or another - “Aww crap, I need xxxxx, lets go down to the Wal-Mart and get it.” And we do, we get in the car, travel to the local 24 hour Wal-Mart and buy what we need, and while we are there, perhaps we get something extra.

This type of convenience has become more and more popular as big-box retailers (Wal-Mart, Target, and others like it) have become more and more influencial. In the documentary “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices”, they mentioned that Wal-Mart contributes more than 2% to the Gross National Product (GDP) of the US alone! Obviously they are here to stay, and for good reason. When Wal-Mart alone services over 100 million customers (1/3 the population of the US!), there is a deeply ingrained ethos to shop and continue to shop at big-box retailers.

When it comes to the ever changing and liquid market of electronics, where there are usually two huge product line releases each year, there is a vast trend towards more powerful and cheaper electronic devices. Two years ago a 4 megapixel camera cost around $200, and that was with a 3x optical zoom. Now, Kodak has an 8 MP camera with a 5x digital camera for under $250 and the market continues to advance in such directions.

The problem comes when small businesses start to sell either digital cameras or digital camera parts. Many consumers have the mentality of why buy a 40 dollar part for a 3 year old digital camera when one can buy a brand new camera for around $200 or so. More and more electronics are becoming throw away disposable devices. Whatever happened to quality?

I knew someone with a VCR they bought in 1986. They finally replaced it in 1998. 12 years! Try to get that out of a $30 DVD player from Wal-Mart now adays. The trend has become one of a throw away market, and that is concerning that consumers allow retailers to get away with this.

The good news is with so many devices flooding and penetrating the market, in the end there will be an influx of parts for the consumers who would prefer to repair their devices. Plus there is a lot of knowledge to be learned from fixing your own device, and a sense of satisfaction as well!

-Eric @ http://www.darntoothysam.com