Ethnography Paper
Kristen Ware
Winthrop University
Part I: Description
“This don’t make no sense,” an older woman that seemed to be in her late forties blurted
out as she stood in line with a plethora of groceries sitting in her cart. The fast movement of
bodies filled the building of Walmart’s Supercenter on a busy Saturday afternoon. If you have
ever shopped at Walmart, especially on a weekend, then you know how aggravating it can be to
wait in the never ending lines, pick out groceries for you and your family, and shop with
numerous people around you during a huge pandemic. Since Walmart is a busy store, I asked a
friend to come along with me who needed to grocery shop as well. Before walking away with her
cart, she grabbed a disinfectant wipe and wiped down the handle thoroughly and began shopping
as I followed behind so I could keep tabs on how consumers purchase their items.
The building was filled with many people of all races covered in surgical masks and
gloves. Someone even took the extra measures by wearing a full body protective suit from the
COVID-19 virus that is spreading rapidly throughout the world. Ever since the virus has risen as
a concern in the United States, businesses have been taking extra precaution and extenuating
circumstances to avoid over purchasing in stores and to maintain a 6-foot distance between
shoppers. Walmart has changed their hours from being a 24-hours store, to opening up at 7 a.m.
to 8:30 p.m., they now offer special hours for senior citizens, and lastly, limitations on items
such as paper products, milk, eggs, cleaning supplies, wipes, and more.
I scanned the aisles. Not one aisle was left empty, but one aisle stood out to me. Aisle 7
that sold most of the canned goods was full of people who wanted to stock up on nonperishable
items. One person in particular that caught my eye was a petite Caucasian female that looked to
be in her early twenties. She was waiting patiently behind an older lady who was taking a while
to gather the needed canned goods she wanted. I stood in front of both of the females making
sure to keep my distance as my friend put a few things in her shopping cart. While waiting, she
patiently scrolled on her phone. Meanwhile the older African American lady who seemed to be
in her late 40’s early 50’s was grabbing everything she could, leaving only one can on the shelf.
The younger Caucasian female looked up from her phone to grab the last canned good and shook
her head, mumbled something under her breath and then angrily put the can good in her cart and
started shopping for more in the aisle.
I then traveled to the meat aisle of the store. To limit the amount of food that customers
purchase from the store, Walmart has put up a sign saying “Due to the COVID-19 we are
limiting purchases of the following items 2 per household. Sorry for any inconvenience.” An
older man that looked to be in his sixties looked at the sign and started shopping for his meats. I
stayed about six feet behind him while my friend grabbed what she needed, observing what he
will do next. Despite the limitations of only grabbing two of the same meats for each visit, the
older man grabbed three.
“Why did you decide to grab three meats instead of two like the message said?” I asked,
after I told him the reason why I stopped him.
He looked at me funny then answered, “Do you know what’s going on right now? You
think I am going to let a piece of paper tell me what to do when I am spending my own money?
You got to do what you got to do during this time.”
As we were making our way to the self-checkout line, we noticed that a lot of the other
shelves in the aisles were empty. Most of the cereal was gone, no toilet paper or paper towels
were left, and the only water bottles that were left was the brand Aquafina. When we finally
made it to self-checkout, the lines were filled with numerous people who were ready to go back
home to their safe places. Looking around, it seemed as though everyone was paranoid. One
customer in particular was so paranoid, that while checking their items out, each time they would
scan an item they would wipe it down with a disinfected wipe and put it into the plastic bag. This
is what the world has come to.
Part II: Observation
People will go the extra mile to get what they want. No matter the issue, no matter the
limitations, and no matter the fact that there is a huge pandemic going on currently, people are
still going to go out and shop for their needed items. This experience showed me that not many
people have any mercy for others. They do not think about how others may need to get essential
items for their households, if they have kids they need to provide for, or if they are elderly.
Because we are living through a huge pandemic, the way people shop has completely changed. A
lot of times people just go into a grocery store to get what they need during that time, but instead
they are shopping for weeks, even months because they are not certain of what is to come.
Besides the fact that people are over buying products, during my observation I have noticed that
even during a pandemic consumers are going to purchase items that they are used to, that are
popular, what they may have been raised on, and items that are on sale. When people go out
shopping for needed items such as food, it is rare that they will end up trying something new. A
lot of the items that we purchase are recurring purchases and we stick to that product.
Walmart has been around for many years, so of course they have gone through multiple
trial and errors to make their store the best store to shop at for consumers needed and wanted
items, but after visiting the Supercenter, I believe that they never thought out a plan that is
similar to what is going on now. As a communications professional it is important to first come
up with a plan so you can handle any situation properly. Think about the internal and external
factors that may hinder the store due to customers panic buying, how it can affect other
customers, and how we can help the associates working. While looking around, I noticed that
some cashiers were not wearing any protective gear, so I believe that Walmart does not have
strict guidelines to keep every associate protected. Also, having more registers open, stricter
guidelines to shopping, and also putting the most needed items in front of the store would help as
well.
