A Visit to Walmart

I went into Walmart yesterday for a pair of socks.

I must admit I usually don't frequent Walmart stores. But, all I wanted was a pair of work socks. A quick in and out operation - nothing fancy - I don't care what colour my work socks are.

Well - it wasn't that simple.

First you can't buy a pair of work socks at Walmart (or any where else as far as that goes) -- You can buy two, three or five pairs -- but you can't buy a single pair.

I have gotten used to this over the years. Things that I once could buy as single items from gum to socks - now come in 'bundles'. They are not bundled because the consumer wants that - they are bundle to save on handling for the retailer. Even my local grocery store will give me a discount if I buy 6 tins of a product over the 1 tin I wanted in the first place.

So I reach for a pack of three pairs of work socks. There is nothing in the sock aisle to indicated the size - so I check the package -- sizes 7-11.

Too small -- So I start searching for a larger size. No luck. All the socks are sizes 7-11. Or as I call them "One size fits nobody!"

Now the average male shoe size in North America is 10.5. And, while my feet are just slightly larger than average, lets consider the average person. A sock small enough to fit a size 7 foot which is 9.8 inches is going to stretch over 1.5 inches to fit a size 11 at just over 11.5 inches. For the average male the sock still must stretch over 1.25 inches.

The result was I went down the street to Mark's Work Wearhouse (A Canadian retail chain specializing in work clothes.) I still couldn't buy a single pair of work socks - but at least they had my size. And, the price was only marginally more than what Walmart wanted for the smaller size.

As businesses struggle through this
recession, there are HUGE opportunities in just giving your customers what they want. It sounds simple - but even the biggest retailer in the world can't do it for everyone.