Expensive cars and trucks at Walmart Super Center 2/2021
Mid-morning on a cold day early in February, there were maybe 60 cars scattered through the parking lot. Interpreting the demographic profiles of Tuesday morning shoppers based on the cars and trucks they drive is a very imprecise and impressionistic exercise unless there is a way to get to know the drivers themselves. But for the purposes of stretching a few analytical muscles, there is no harm that comes from guessing at some of the forces at play now 11 months into the Trump Virus (pandemic scourge of USA and world-wide).
Walmart presents itself in its origin story and present-day marketing in such a way to appeal to shoppers seeking the most product (or service) for their money. The overall vibe is "buy in bulk," "choose in-store brand," and be unpretentious, although there are selected name-brand items also sold under the same roof. So if bargain prices and budgeting are uppermost among many of the shoppers, at first glance it seems out of place to see a new-looking car, particularly one that is more expensive that a modest or basic model: the Cadillac line of GM (above), or a European car, for example.
There must be many ways to interpret this scene of a pricey car (in 2020 MSRP of $75,000 -about the same price as an older house of 1500 square feet in the town) whose driver relies on Walmart for some of the products to use at their home or business. Here is a list of a few possible explanations, in no particular order. (1) Lottery or raffle contest winner - modest or big jackpot (at least one big winner lived in this town more than a decade ago). (2) Recent inheritance of financial assets or the vehicle itself. (3) Factory employee with discount or other incentives to allow purchase on easy and advantageous terms. (4) Budget-conscious shopper has saved enough money over the decades to finally purchase a car of her/his dreams (i.e. it is thanks to big-box retail stores like this one that the owner was able to buy this car. (5) The car is borrowed, is a rental, is used for business, or was taken with a 3 year lease agreement such that the sight of an expensive car's driver shopping for inexpensive groceries is not anomalous after all: the appearance of great wealth is not actually true. (6) The car was bought or leased pre-Covid when income was good, but now with livelihood cramped or ended by the pandemic the once proudly owned transportation seems extravagant, but still it functions for transportation all right. (7) As a strategy for conserving a little wealth for someone seeking to qualify for Medicare to pay for nursing home, assisted living, or memory care, one's house and one vehicle are not calculated in the personal wealth inventory. So pouring some savings into a car that is premium price is one way to hold onto a little more owned wealth.
Whatever the real-life context that make possible this picture of a high-priced car parking at the budget-friendly Walmart Super Center, it is clear that there are many explanations that could apply alone or maybe even in combination. By contrast, though, most vehicles are modest and much less eye-catching. A few may look in very decrepit condition on the outside, but be maintained to a high standard on the inside. A few may be in the new years of their lifecycle. But most cars and trucks are somewhere between shiny and new on the one hand and falling apart on the other hand.
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