1. Recommendation Report
Wal-Mart Aisle Arrangement
Jelilat Adesiyan
3/28/2013

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ABSTRACT
I started this project in an attempt to research why we (Wal-Mart) don’t sell Sunbelt Bakery
Chocolate Chip bars. Due to aisle mismanagement, I discovered that Wal-Mart does indeed have
this product but had it in the Bakery aisle rather than the granola bar. This led me into
researching the other aisle arrangement discrepancies. Once I determined that there was a
product, I recommended that Wal-Mart make a new floor plan. I also suggested that the current
aisle plan be dismantled. The new plan should be more specific and have corresponding images
and products to match the words that are written on the aisle label.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................................iii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS..................................................................................................................................................iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................................................................v
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................................................1
Context.....................................................................................................................................................................................2
Methods........................................................................................................................................................................................3
Results...........................................................................................................................................................................................6
Conclusions................................................................................................................................................................................7
Recommendations.................................................................................................................................................................8
Glossary.....................................................................................................................................................................................12
IT: Information Technology..........................................................................................................................................12
Edlp – Everyday low prices...........................................................................................................................................12
References...............................................................................................................................................................................13
Appendices..............................................................................................................................................................................14

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LISTOF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Figure 1
2. Figure 2
3. Figure 3
4. Figure 4
5. Figure 5
6. Figure 6

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
I am an employee and consumer of Wal-Mart and its goods and I especially love buying
most of my products at Wal-Mart because of the Everyday low prices attached to the
products being sold. I work in the IT department. It came to my attention that Wal-Mart
aisles were being mismanaged by chance and good research. I had previously wanted to
write about The Sunbelt Bakery Chocolate Chip Granola Bar and it was unavailable at my
local Wal-Mart store. Upon further research, I discovered that the granola bars actually
existed at my local Wal-Mart but was at the Bakery aisle instead of the Granola aisle. I have
attached my recommendation report on Wal-Mart aisle arrangement.
First, I investigated the extent of the problem by spending a lot of time at two separate Wal-
Marts a few miles from my home. I identified my options for addressing this problem. I
browsed around both stores looking for discrepancies and taking pictures of them. I found
that found that most of the grocery items were being mislabeled or being duplicated in
other aisles.
Based on my research, I recommended that Wal-Mart make a new floor plan. I recommend
that the current aisle plan be dismantled. The new plan should be more specific and have
corresponding images and products to match the words that are written on the aisle label.
There should also be an international aisle to show Wal-Mart’s diversity in a more
politically and socially accepted way.
I also recommend that the Wal-Mart product locator app be updated so that it can include a
floor plan of each local store directory. This will enable consumers to shop conveniently.

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Wal-Mart floor employees are very helpful but it sometimes takes too long for a customer
to get a hold of the employee. I recommend that more employees should be on the floor.
Wal-Mart is an exceptional Store and has a bright future, but this can only keep on
happening if our customers are happy with all of our services.
I hope you find my recommendation report useful and helpful. If you have any more
questions, please contact me at ext. 4356.

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Introduction
Why aren’t the aisle arrangements consistent here (at Wal-Mart)? “Over the past few years Wal-
Mart has become the largest supermarket chain in the USA. Wal-Mart, excluding its Sam’s Club,
now has supermarket- related revenues approximately 51% larger than the runner-up Kroger, and
larger than Albertsons and Safeway, the third and fourth largest supermarket chains, combined
[…] The majority of Wal-Mart’s grocery sales arise from its over 1400 (as of April 2004)
supercenters, which average 180,000 square feet per store and contain both discount and grocery
store items… (Hausman and Leibtag 1159).
Wal-Mart is a huge company and is part of the American life. There is a Wal-Mart Supercenter
on every street corner in Texas. Wal-Mart is so big that it affects the prices of sales at other
competitive stores. “Supercenters cause a 9% decrease in the price of national brands of both
grocery items and produce” (Volpe and Lavoie 11). Wal-Mart’s prices are low and this is why a
lot of consumers buy from them. “Wal-Mart Supercenters follow a different pricing strategy than
most supermarkets. [..]All Wal-Mart stores use everyday low pricing (EDLP), meaning that all
products are marked up by the same percentage regardless of the price at which they were
acquired […] (Volpe and Lavoie 2-3). This means that even if a good cost $7 to acquire, with
Wal-Mart’s strategy of using everyday low prices (EDLP), the good’s price can be marked down.
If a store can affect the prices of good, it means that its buyer power is extraordinary.
This means that the prices of goods are affected by the number of people that buy from them. It
is the people that control the price of goods and services and this is what Wal-Mart recognized
that brought them to the top of the food chain. This means that putting a product at Wal-Mart

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means that it will get a lot of exposure due to the number of people that frequent it. A lot of
people go to Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart is inexpensive. One of the disadvantages that Wal-Mart
has is their aisle arrangement style. It simply isn’t conducive for people who just want to shop
and go but the inexpensiveness of Wal-Mart makes it manageable.
Context
I originally started this report in an attempt to ask Wal-Mart a question. “Why isn’t Wal-Mart
selling Sunbelt Bakery chocolate chip granola bars?” This question sparked the beginnings of my
research into the placement of goods in aisles. I had been researching all the possible reasons
why this bar didn’t exist at all Wal-Marts, particularly my local store, when unbeknownst to me
it had been there all along.
Apparently, this product was located in the bakery aisle. This seemed like a foreign concept to
me when I heard it. What is a granola bar doing in the bakery aisle and not in the granola aisle
with all of the other granola bars? I was determined then and there to figure out if other products
were being misrepresented by their placements in different aisles or multiple placements in
different aisles.

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Methods
Why are the aisles not correctly labeled? I had to be sure that this problem was not just located
primarily in the Wal-Mart near my home, so I went to a Wal-Mart farther down the road. The
layout was basically the same.
I also discovered in the process of this research that Wal-Mart has a product locator app
(application). “Wal-Mart has added an in-store aisle location feature to its app, telling store
shoppers the aisle where they can find each item on their shopping list” (Deatsch 1). Wal-Mart
has an app that gives store locations, product reviews and a host of other features. Wal-Mart
recently added the new a new feature to this app adding the aisle locator app. The app is
available through the Wal-Mart website for the iPad, iPhone, & Android stores and the mobile
web (Fig 1). I downloaded the app in an attempt to use it as a research tool. I chose my local
store through the app and tried to locate the aisle location for an item while I wasn’t in the store
just to try it out. It didn’t work. I went to the store in person to try out the app, reasoning that it
was my proximity from the store that caused the app not to show the aisles in the store. It didn’t
work.
I chose the Sunbelt Bakery chocolate chip granola bars as one of my sample products. I had
previously gone to my local Wal-Mart store to buy this product and was convinced that the store
didn’t have it. Because of my love for it, I went to another Wal-Mart to look for this product and
still didn’t find it. I was convinced that Wal-Mart didn’t sell it. I interrogated a Wal-Mart store
manager in an attempt to find it. At first, the manager did not even know what I was talking
about. After further questioning, in which I described the product to her and gave her the full

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name of the product, she said it was either in the granola aisle or the candy aisle. I insisted she
come with me to the granola aisle to find it as I had previously been there numerous times before
and had never found it there. It had had me thinking that it was my timing that was bad. I had
previously been imagining that Wal-Mart was always out of the product whenever I went there.
The manager went with me to the aisle to look for it and even though other granola bars were
there such as; Nature Valley granola bar, Quaker granola bars, Fiber One granola bars and some
other types of granola bars, Sunbelt Bakery chocolate chip granola bars were not there (Fig 2).
The now confused manager radioed another manager to check the candy aisle and it was not
there. The now confused manager who was now convinced they had it then radioed one of the
other Wal-Mart managers who told her that the Granola aisle was only for name brand
corporations. I was aghast. I was even more aghast when she told me that the Granola bars were
in the Bakery aisle (Fig 3).
The granola bars ended up being on the bottom shelf of the bakery aisle where other non-bakery,
packaged foods existed such as honey buns, cinnamon buns and other products that could be
baked fresh but incidentally were not and were packaged by companies such as Little Debbie,
Hostess and small companies like that. These goods are cheaper than the average granola bars, or
other processed baked goods by other companies. These products are an example of hallmarked
goods that students such as myself survive on. They are cheap and easy to find at smaller stores
and school bookstores because their prominence is highlighted by their placement.
I also discovered other discrepancies. The layout of Wal-Mart would actually serve more purpose
if the goods that are put on the aisle labels are the only goods that are put in the aisle. In the soup

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and pasta aisle, I saw a subsection titled canned fruit while the next aisle had a huge aisle label
stating that canned goods were in the next aisle (Figure 4). This is misleading, especially to
people who rely on the information being presented on the aisle labels. These kinds of goods
among others are being placed in aisles that downgrade their availability.
In the Canned foods aisle, there was a subsection named Hispanics foods. This is also very
misleading. (Fig. 5) While some of the ‘Hispanic foods’ that were available in that subsection
were canned, it doesn’t mean it should be in the canned food aisle because the label ‘Hispanic
foods’ is too encompassing.
I also looked in the Bakery aisle to see Wal-Mart’s definition of bakery. There was a spice
section (Figure 6). These spices were also at the actual spice aisle even though there was an aisle
label that carried the word spice. In this spice aisle there were other spices as well as the spices
from the bakery aisle.
These product misrepresentations created implications that have most arguably sent a few people
scrambling back to their neighborhood grocery stores.

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Results
It is apparent that the aisle locator that Wal-Mart added to the app (application) is a failure. It
doesn’t work and there are no prompts associated with the app telling the user how to locate the
aisle locator application. After further research, I found a newspaper article that prompted me to
add an item to my mobile shopping list. “As a customer adds an item to her mobile shopping list,
she will see the aisle where she’ll find the product” (Deatsch 1). I tried this method and I still
didn’t get an aisle locator feature, inside and outside the store.
I also looked at some forums online. One of the commentators on the forum wrote, “We have 6
stores in my area and none of them are the same either. They are so different I hate going to any
other one except the one down the street from me because I can't find anything” (ainman26).
This was the general consensus by people online. Even though Wal-Mart stores have the same
skeletal floor plan, they are still very different.
Small time goods such as hostess, little Debbie products and other generic items are being put in
aisles that posture irrelevancy. This reduces the business of both that company and Wal-Mart
because these items have loyal customers such as myself who prowl the aisles looking for them.

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Conclusions
Research tells me that product misplacement is a very common problem in Wal-Mart stores. The
aisles are mismanaged. The products are being replicated in different aisles. Specific aisle labels
are leading to broader aisle sub sections in a manner that is not very consumer friendly. Wal-Mart
is one of the largest grocery corporations in the United States and having such a problem is
undermining their success and ability to call themselves number one.

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Recommendations
“On a weekly basis, Wal-Mart’s low prices attract 140 million shoppers in the United States: 52
per cent, or 73 million, of these shoppers are core Wal-Mart customers with an average
household income of over $50,000. Although these core shoppers spend just $61 per month on
consumables, they make up more than two-thirds of the retailer’s sales” (Roberts and Berg 52).
Wal-Mart sells everything that an average American family needs to live, so it is important that
people want to come there to shop, not only because it is inexpensive,, but because the
environment is conducive to shopping.
The Wal-Mart mobile app (application) is good in general. A person can find out if an item is out
of stock in their local Wal-Mart and can even buy the product online and get it delivered to the
house or pick it up after it’s been packaged for her. This choice for in-store pick-up or home
delivery is not conducive for everyone. It can be expensive for someone who just wants a couple
of goods and can stop by to pick it up after work or school on their way home. The app should be
reconfigured so that a person who uses the app in and out of the store can locate the aisles they
are looking for based on their local store. Time is money and going around looking for a product
instead of just using the aisle label provided is a waste of money.
The aisles should be renamed with appropriate images. The aisles sometimes have specific aisle
labels and even more specific aisle sub section labels. Take the canned fruit app for example. The
aisle label says Canned Fruits and Vegetables. When a person walks into the aisle, it has other
subsections that were not listed on the general aisle label. This makes it difficult to find some
particular products. In this canned fruit aisle, there is also the Hispanic food aisle subsection.

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While these goods are canned, they are not only Hispanic foods. They are foods that Hispanic
people eat, but they are not only specific to Hispanic people.
In the bread aisle which is accidentally not in the bakery aisle, there are tortillas. Tortillas are
associated with bread because they have flour component in them. If Wal-Mart insists on having
a tortilla subsection, why don’t they have a Hispanic based general aisle label that have foods
that are only associated with all things Hispanic. The tortillas are also in the Bakery section.
The Bakery section is one of the most controversial sections. It has tortillas, spices, freshly baked
foods as appropriately placed and most confusing packaged bakery goods that are not fresh and
have long term expiry date son them, such as products from small brand names like Little
Debbie, and Hostess foods. Why can’t these foods be put in separate aisles if there is a particular
reason that they cannot be placed together?
If there is a legitimate reason they cannot be placed together, a simple solution will be to create
aisle labels that pronounce a particular aisle, for example, “The little Debbie product” aisle. It is
a way to announce to people who buy the products that the products do exist. These products
with their small brand names are very cheap and are an American favorite. In this economy,
people want delicious but inexpensive foods and products from small brand names such as these
are usually a favorite as they are available in school bookstores and gas stations everywhere.
The manager that took me on a tour of Wal-Mart to look for the Sunbelt Bakery Chocolate Chip
bar that I couldn’t find for my initial product stated that only big brand name granola bars such

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as Fiber One, Nature Valley oats and Quaker oats were put in the Granola aisle. Consumers of
Granola bars don’t care for the bars being put in different places because of their net worth, they
care that granola bars are where the signs say they would be; the Granola aisle.
In one of the forums I browsed through, one of the forum members stated, “No two stores in my
area are the same. They are different sizes and some have been remodeled into the new
"boutique" look and some are just old aisle floor plans. Even the inventory is different at the
stores” (texasdee). Wal-Mart eliminated their displays as one element of an overarching strategy
known as Project Impact in an attempt to increase sales but this change did not work as sales
declined by 1.3% (Mike 17). Wal-Mart should have store directories placed at strategic locations
in the store and should ensure that these floor plans are specific to that local store.
Wal-Mart is great in that they usually have the store employees stay in more open areas but it is
just not enough. Consumers who are confused about certain thing will ask whoever is wearing
the Wal-Mart employee out of Blue shirts and Khakis. Employee outfits say a lot to customers,
they say that the employee has the answers to all of their questions and if they don’t know it, can
at least transfer them to someone who can right away. I was only able to get in touch with the
manager who took me around my local Wal-Mart store 20 minutes after I asked an employee to
direct me to her. The employee was very helpful in that she was with me while we were looking
for the manager, but manager wasn’t found until about 20 minutes later. I admired the employees
customer service because she assisted me in looking for the manager, but this would not have
been required if the manager was close at hand like she should be.

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An international aisle is also something worth looking at. Most stores, especially ones that
compete with Wal-Mart such as Kroger, have an international aisle. America is a melting pot.
People come from different walks of life and even though they live in a different country, they
want to eat the food they grew up on. Take the Hispanic aisle for example, if there was an
international aisle, the Hispanic food subsection could easily be placed there rather than put in
somewhere as obscure as the canned food aisle.
Simple steps such as those I have listed are very good ways of promoting sales. “All sales people
have lost sales because a past customer didn’t know they offered a particular product […]”
(Anonymous 5). If the aisles are properly managed, sales could increase exponentially because
the consumers will know where everything is.

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Glossary
IT: Information Technology
Edlp – Everyday low prices.
App – Computer or phone application.
Forums – An online discussion of problems and solutions.
Store directories – A detailed list coupled with Images of the store’s layout.

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References
Ainman26. “Aisle Layout???” 06 March. 2011. Grocery Coupons & Deal Forums. 28 March.
2013.
Deatsch, Katie . "Mobile Commerce - Wal-Mart wants consumers to use its apps in stores -
Internet Retailer." Industry Strategies for Online Merchants - Internet Retailer. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. <http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/05/31/wal-mart-wants-
consumers-use-its-apps-stores>.
Hausman, Jerry, and Ephraim Leibtag. "Consumer Benefits from Increased Competition in
Shopping Outlets: Measuring the Effect of Wal-mart." Journal of Applied Econometrics
22 (2007): 1157-1177. Print.
Mike, Troy. "Excitement, action return to Walmart aisles." Drug Store News [NY] 13 Dec. 2010:
17. Print.
"Promoting Sales." Banker's news [Washington] 12 Jan. 1999, 1 ed.: 5. ProQuest. Web. 13 Mar.
1928.
Roberts, Bryan R., and Natalie Berg. Walmart: key insights and practical lessons from the
world's largest retailer. London: Kogan Page, 2012. Print.
Texasdee. “Aisle Layout???” 06 March. 2011. Grocery Coupons & Deal Forums. 28 March.
2013.
Volpe III, Richard J. , and Nathalie Lavoie. "The Effect of Wal-Mart Supercenters on Grocery
Prices in New England ." Review of Agricultural Economics 30.1 (2007): 4-26. Print.

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Appendices
Fig 1 (above)

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Figure 2 (above)

22. 16
Figure 3 (above)
Figure 4 (above)

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Figure 5 (above)

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Figure 6 (above)