Study: Wal-Mart saves families $2,500 per year

Based on some of the negative stories pumped out by such union-funded groups like Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch, one would think I'm stupid to shop at Wal-Mart.

Uh-uh. The dummies are the ones who don't.

From Global Insight's web site:

In 2005, Wal-Mart commissioned Global Insight to undertake an independent research effort to analyze this issue. The goal of that research was to independently and credibly document Wal-Mart's national and local impacts in terms of jobs, wages, prices, consumer buying power, productivity, and gross domestic product.

That report found that the existence of Wal-Mart between 1985 and 2004 resulted in a 3.1% cumulative reduction in consumer prices by 2004. This translated into consumer savings amounting to $263 billion in 2004—$895 per person and $2,330 per household.

During 2007, Wal-Mart asked Global Insight to update portions of this work. Our new study, titled The Price Impact of Wal-Mart: An Update Through 2006, looks at Wal-Mart's cumulative price impact and total cost savings as of 2006.

Our findings continue to support the claim that an economy without Wal-Mart would have meant higher prices for consumers. It also concludes that the reduction in the price level due to the presence of Wal-Mart translates directly into consumer savings amounting to $287 billion in 2006—$957 per person and $2,500 per household.

Pictured above is a Topeka, Kansas Wal-Mart taken with my digital camera in July. I bought the 1.0 gigabyte memory card where that picture was stored at a Wal-Mart in Niles, Illinois for the obscenely low-price of $25.00. Not only does the retail king save me money, it helps me blog cheaply.

Now if only Wal-Mart could buy a few oil refineries....

Wal-Mart also has a new ad slogan, "Save Money, Live Better."

Add "Blog Better" to that slogan.

H/T to Marshall Manson at Edelman for the story.

Related posts:

My book report: The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy

The good life of working for the UFCW

Technorati tags: Wal-Mart Business Big Box retail marketing