The shutdown will halt about $8 billion a month in federal food assistance. Walmart captures 24% of all SNAP shopper spending, according to Numerator’s 2025 SNAP Evolution report—triple Kroger’s share and far ahead of Costco, Amazon and Sam’s Club.
Walmart was the first retailer to accept SNAP online in all 50 states in 2023 and launched the Walmart+ Assist program, which offers half-price memberships for those receiving aid.
“If SNAP payments stop, spending by the lowest income groups will fall,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of data and analytics firm GlobalData. “Walmart gets a plurality of the spending, so it will be hit the hardest.”
This was somewhat epiphanic for me.
I already recognized companies such as Walmart were subsidizing pay through social programs such as SNAP and essential funneling/laundering tax payer money to their executives.
This headline made me further realize they’re not only making taxpayers subsidize wages, they’ve also effectively turned the USD into a form of company scrip. While that scrip can be spent at some other locations I bet a large percent of funneled right back to e.g. Walmart itself. If you already work at Walmart it makes spending your SNAP benefit there easier.
Walmart sounds like a real freeloader. From low-paid employees with little or no benefits needing public welfare to get by and then catering to those same kinds of people on government assistance for shopping.
they don’t need the welfare to get by, but supply/demand and economies of scale, if their sales volume drops, their prices certainly won’t be rolling back to make up for it. They will be laying off more workers, automating more positions, and raising prices. They didn’t make the system, but they definitely positioned themselves to take advantage of it.
Yeah it’s almost like they underpay their employees so they can get them on snap and capture their snap benefits. Mostly employees would probably shop at Walmart to save time.