William Blair Survey Finds One-Third Of Shoppers Plan Gift Shopping At Walmart

The trade-down phenomenon has transformed Americans into Walmart shoppers. Goldman confirmed this last week, noting that Walmart’s competitors, such as Target and Dollar stores, suffered market share losses. The reality is that Walmart offers the best deals at a time when consumers are buckling under the weight of record credit card debt, and personal savings have plunged to all-time lows as inflation remains elevated and interest rates sky high. 

“For yet another year, we would call out the strong competitive positioning of the off-price channel, the membership club model, and Amazon, which are all still likely in the middle innings of a decadeslong runway for expansion,” wrote Sharon Zackfia, an analyst at William Blair, in a note quoted by Barron’s. 

The team of analysts led by Zackfia polled 585 consumers about their spending trends this holiday shopping season. They found a third-ranked Walmart as the top destination for gift buying, followed by Amazon.com at 25% and Costco Wholesale at 21%, adding that TJX, Ross Stores, and Burlington Stores were also popular choices. 

Zackfia’s findings come days after Goldman’s consumer specialist Scott Feiler declared Walmart the “winner” in this challenging consumer environment. Feiler’s note was published shortly after Target reported dismal earnings last week.

The takeaway here is that whether they’re grocery shopping or gift buying, consumers think Walmart is the best retailer to find deals. We first revealed this in mid-July. 

In markets, owning these retailers, such as Walmart… Well, Goldman’s Eric Mihelc told clients Monday that shares “aren’t cheap.” 

Here’s more from Mihelc:

The problem for investors is that the shares of these companies aren’t cheap. All trade for more than 20 times next year’s earnings, well above the average of about 14 times for the SPDR S&P Retail exchange-traded fund. Bulls say the premium is worth it because all of these companies have been doing well. Investors looking for a better deal may want to scout the small- and mid-cap aisles, where valuations tend to be lower. DKS, RL, TPR, JWN, ANF are among the stocks favored by Dana Telsey, CEO of Telsey Advisory Group. All five companies have delivered steady revenue and earnings growth in recent quarters, and could continue to do so in 2025. And, all five trade for under 20 times earnings.

In markets, Walmart is the big winner… 

A nation of Walmart shoppers also signifies the implosion of the standard of living through reckless gov’t money printing, which ignited the inflation timebomb. Great job, DC elites!