Lately, I’ve been paying a lot of attention to what’s happening with our big-box stores…And Wal-Mart in particular. Because as oil prices continue to go up I believe that’s going to be a difficult business model to sustain. Think about it… What makes Wal-Mart work is they ship and sell very large quantities of goods, many of which are made in Asia of formerly cheap plastics. Now the cost of fuel is driving up shipping prices. And it’s driving up the cost of anything made from petroleum (that includes plastics, make-up, packaging, tires, toys, kitchenware, housewares, you name it) too. On top of all this, our sudden transition to a greener society along with the downturn in the economy. Both of these are making people less inclined to spend money on anything other than necessities. Clearly Wal-mart recognize this as well. Because recently they’ve changed their tagline from “Always the low price” to “Save Money. Live Better.” This is a HUGE deal. Because getting their current customer to accept a shift like this may not be easy. But they know they can no longer hold onto their position as the lowest-price because their business model is not as cheap to run as it was just a couple years ago. Shipping costs have gone up…Manufacturing costs have gone up…Store construction costs have gone up…Costs of lighting and heating those big stores have gone up. Etc. etc… So now, instead of being the low cost leader, they are jumping on the greener, healthier bandwagon. And their marketing and advertising reflect that. Just the other night I saw a Wal-Mart commercial promoting their new line of eco-friendly t-shirts for kids. Frankly, as a dyed-in-the-wool environmentalist, I’m thrilled with this turn of events. But I wonder what it means for Wal-Mart… Can they make the transition and survive more or less intact? Is this the beginning of the end for discount, big-box retailers in general, or Wal-Mart in particular? How easy (or hard) is it going to be for them to change people’s perception of their stores and products? Post a comment and let me know what you think… [tags] Wal-Mart, Walmart, Wal-Marts tagline has changes,  discount price business model, business model, commercial promoting, going green, going green in your business, marketing, advertising, eco-friendly [/tags]