Walmart’s Pricing Strategies
THE MARKETING MIX: PRICING STRATEGIES
Questions/Tasks
Will Walmart’s return to ‘everyday low pricing‘ bring Walmart its targeted Sales Volume, Profit, Turnover, and ROI?
Defend your position.
The Situation
Walmart is mired in the worst US sales slump ever.
SLP Assignment Expectations
In answering the question make reasonable assumptions, (clearly you won’t have the same information available to you as the VP of Marketing at Walmart, e.g. about costs, but make some assumptions and follow through in your analysis).
You should also bear in mind that a fundamental goal, as with all the slps you build in MKT490, is to demonstrate your learning.
In preparing your SLP5, ensure that you demonstrate your learning of the marketing concepts and frameworks for analysis outlined in the modular learning objectives by using and referencing the background and slp material.
- Explain the pricing strategies that firms use.
- Explain what factors are involved in the development of a pricing strategy.
- Explain the relationship between costs and prices.
- Explain the relationship between a firm’s pricing strategy and its product, distribution, and promotion strategies
In particular, in answering the question, ensure that you demonstrate your understanding of pricing, the factors affecting success of pricing, as well as your learning from previous modules.
In particular, review what you learned about consumer behavior (Background Readings for Module 1) and bolster your argument in terms of when consumers make their decisions based on price, as opposed to brands and the locations of retailers.
Note that this assignment does NOT require you to prepare a detailed essay. Instead use section headings for each of the topics you address in your paper followed by a discussion of that topic.
SLP Readings
Bustillo, Miguel (2011). With sales flabby, Wal-Mart turns to its core. Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition, March 21):B1.
Bustillo, Miguel & Martin, Timothy W. (2010). Wal-Mart bets on reduction in prices. Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition, April 9):B1.
Neff, Jack (2011). Walmart moves back to core pricing message. But some consumers may be finding needs better met elsewhere. Advertising Age (March 21).
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