Since I work for Wal-Mart, and like all businesses they get just a bit too big after a while and it is now next to impossible to keep prices low, and always available, because of the over head of operating a business.
Just a few examples are: personnel and increasing wages over time; SSI; Health insurance; pensions; etc. etc well these things add up after awhile and they keep going up, and so many retirees to take care of after the longevity of any company so things end up like the dominoes that started just a few years back with the bailing out of some major corporations in the same exact boats.
But online businesses are fastly moving in to make the ultimate kill on some retailers, and companies like Wal-Mart will end up like Gibsons, Kmart, Ben Franklins, Woolworths, and others, that just could no longer compete, and had to scale way back or sell out. In away that is how Sam Walton got his start, by buying out others who could no longer compete.
So there are newer innovative ideas that places like Wal-Mart are thinking about trying, and I had one for a small store like ours in a very secluded market.
So you don't have to check, and wonder; I am an associate, @ 67. But I just had an idea, and wanted to share, since you will continue to broaden into online sales this idea came to me while talking to my wife; I will just use two depts. as examples.
Take toys, and all the complications of large items such as bikes, or other larger items; scale down toys, and sell only the best selling smaller items on the shelf; then at a well seen place in toys put a very interactive podium console, that offers all toys sold by Wal-Mart, and the shipping is free and within two days only; PLUS, the program could be constructed in such a way to give the current other major online prices such as Amazon, or others if they are more expensive? It will help to reduce the congestion, and storage areas.
NOW, lets talk about furniture, which is so inconsistent in sales and offering it is almost a throw out; Take an area in house wares that is closest to what furniture is; and offer an attractive area like a small seating area (questionable idea), with present home wares used as advertisment ideas; and an order console for furniture as it's center; LIKE I am trying to emphasize, these consoles are not for everything Wal-Mart sells but just for that area, ONLY, so it can be better constructed and kept current a lot more simply, plus easier to browse if it doesn't cover 10 million items and all the stinking bogging down cross references Wal-Mart doesn't seem to think is Making people move to Amazon and others that know how to make a site easy to use.
Anyway, this isn't all but do you get the idea?