I said in class this week that I relate everything to the history of technology and themes in technology. What do I think of when I think of Hurricane Irene? Information!! A major theme in America today is applying information technology to every part of society, to every issue, from getting a parking space, to hurricanes. Besides the detailed forecasts and information we now can follow minute by minute about a hurricane's path, information is a part of this story in other ways. Walmart applies its information technology to understand what people buy when a hurricane hits (or before a hurricane hits and after it hits.) Walmart has a massive amount of data which tells it what people buy when. (In 2004, the New York Times reported that Walmart's computer center held twice as much data as the Internet at that time.) So they can see what people have bought during previous hurricanes and make sure that they have those items at stores in the path of a hurricane. It turns out that there is a huge spike in the sale of strawberry poptarts before a hurricane. (Also, not surprisingly, beer.) Here is another piece about this trend.
I've an observation on Wal-Mart's perception that people buy lots of strawberry Pop-Tarts before heavy weather.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, Strawberry is the predominant flavour of Pop-Tart that is carried in grocery-stores. The Strawberry flavoured Pop-Tart seems to be the only flavour regularly carried in the 12 Pack -- which has the lowest price per serving. (I _wish_ they'd carry other flavours so -- Strawberry is not my favourite!)
As such: When one is seeking to quickly pick up "iron rations" in anticipation of loss of electric power, need for portable "food", etc. the Strawberry Pop-Tart is the only real "choice" amongst Pop-Tarts; and Pop-Tarts are surely a good choice as "iron rations".
So, given that that this is the natural "choice", it is only natural that Wal-Mart will observe sales of large quantities of Strawberry Pop-Tarts in these situation. This is no significant observation, therefore.
This is a case of "lying with statistics" -- quite possibly through ignorance. The fact of cause and effect here is non-existent... if not, in fact, reversed.
Wal-Mart creates the demand for Strawberry Pop-Tarts by its own actions. (Supply-side thinking...) If it were to have the 12-Packs in Blueberry and Brown-Sugar-Cinnamon and so forth as well as Strawberry you'd see this imagined demand for Strawberry change. (Especially, given that strawberry happens to be a food to which a large proportion of the population has allergies -- unless Pop-Tarts are _artificially_ "strawberry". I do note that the main fruit in the strawberry flavour is... _apple_.)
"The People want what The People get."
-- (I don't recall the attribution... a song lyric.)
In short: Wal-Mart ain't all that smart as they want to appear to us to be.
--
MDShuford