Obviously, Walmart doesn't say, "give me lower quality goods". Walmart says, "give me goods for lower price than last year, or we'll cancel our order", which then pushes suppliers to cut corners for Walmart orders.

Try comparison shopping for TVs.

You'll find the following:

     LG TV Serial:ABC123WM  at walmart
     LG TV Serial:ABC123BB  at best buy

Every chain gets their own "differentiation" on the serial number. Same fucking monitor, same bells and whistles... But that "serial" is different.

It's called managerial plausible deniablity. And this tactic is very much welcomed across all stores, as it prevents comparison shopping.

> Just curious, do you have any links to evidence on this?

I THINK this is along the lines of your request. I read this when it was published (2006) and didn’t reread it when I searched for it now. Describes a culture of lowering quality to achieve sales at prices dictated by WM, as I recall. Sorry, want to be more complete but unable at this moment.

https://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart

i have often heard a claim that electronics manufacturers sometimes have a "walmart" version of certain products which are made with cheaper parts but sold in almost-identical packaging to the version that they stock at other retailers. i haven't been able to find any specific examples, though, so i don't think it's true. or, at least, it isn't a common practice.

many electronics manufacturers, however, do create "black friday" versions of their products. this is well-documented. i think this practice is the origin on the claim made by the GP.

I think that's more about price matching...

BestBuy: "Sorry, but that Walmart price is actually a different TV model."