In the past, I have written blog posts critical of Walmart. However, I have always maintained that no matter how much I make fun of the mega retailer, I still shop there. Tonight I want to break away from the cynicism. Adding to the cost saving advantages I have written about in the past, I actually feel the need to compliment Walmart on a few areas where I think the company really does a nice job. How about I give you five?

Great Value is Great – I have made up my mind. In my opinion, the Walmart generic brand is actually pretty good. I have mentioned before that Great Value ice cream is amazing but it goes further than dessert. You can buy really good chips and cheese puffs for $1 per bag. You can purchase decent peanut butter for half the price of JIFF. You can grab cereal off the shelves that taste identical to that of the premium brands but cost around $2 per box. Pasta, cool whip, cheese, bacon, milk, etc. etc. are just a few of the other items I buy under the Great Value brand. Honestly, it is worth both the taste and money to opt for Walmart generic products.

Baby Formula – We purchase a baby formula for Sloan that runs for $12.99 at CVS or Walgreens. At Walmart, the exact same bottle is under 10 bucks. When you are purchasing 6-8 bottles at a time, that equates to some pretty significant savings. Even if you aren’t buying generic at Walmart, you still save a lot on premium brand products compared to what you would pay somewhere else.

So Much More Than Groceries – Walmart really is a one-stop destination. Before or after you finish shopping, you can take advantage of all the other lifestyle offerings available inside the stores. Everything from Subway restaurants to Redbox kiosks to salons to ATMs to photo processing centers can be found in your average Walmart. There is no need to drive all around town making multiple stops…Walmart has you covered.

Cold Soda – Last week, I mentioned how I have developed a taste for soda. These days when I walk out of a Walmart, I am tempted to drop some coins into the wide range of soda machines that you must walk by before exiting through the doors. However, the ambush isn’t entirely bad. The soft drinks are always heavily discounted and most of the product is distributed in 12 ounce cans. Who doesn’t love a can of soda dispensed from a machine? Ice cold and bubbly, there is no better way to drink it. These days it is easy to find Coke machines at malls and airports that sell 20 ounce bottles for $1.75, a far cry from the aluminum delight you can enjoy at Walmart for just 45 cents.

Checkout Convenience – A pet peeve of mine at Walmart is that many times there will be 45 checkout lanes installed but only five of them will be open. The company is now seemingly trying to combat this by offering more self checkout lanes. In fact, it now seems that the amount of self checkout lanes equals that of clerk-administered lanes. I have noticed that Walmarts now have self checkout (I think Walmart calls them Scan and Go) centers located at both ends of the checkout area. Each center has around 10 different kiosks where customers can scan their groceries. As someone who likes to scan my own groceries when I have under 20 items (which is most of the time), I really appreciate this convenience.

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Does Walmart offer you any advantages? If so, let me know. Hope your Monday went well and that your week is off on the right foot. Don’t Blink.