• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 3, 2017

Hating on brands is something Americans love to do, which is one of the main reasons Walmart rises to the top each time we rank our most-read stories of the year.

Sure, bigness is another reason readers are so much more likely to click on a business story with Walmart in the headline: A minor burp from the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer creates wrinkles and ramifications that rattle every link in the supply chain. 

But marketers everywhere tend to fixate on the inherent contradictions involved in managing a brand that is both a) the most hated retailer in America, blamed for everything from the ruination of small towns, oppressive labor practices and all-around poor taste and b) the most powerful innovator in retail, with the ability to bring everything from “ugly fruit” (a.k.a. dented apples) to mobile commerce to all buyers from the affluent to the masses.

The most-read story I wrote in 2016 was about Walmart’s ongoing tweaking of its small-store strategy. (For those not following the company closely, all those supercenters it spent years building aren’t doing as well as smaller-store formats, which are thriving.)

A story about Walmart and Amazon duking it out for the No. 2 spot in consumer electronics, behind Best Buy, was also among the most read. And while Amazon is indeed No. 2 now, interest in that story highlights the reality that after years of listening to retailers blather about omnichannel capabilities, Walmart emerges as the only serious online challenger to the mighty Amazon. Its recent acquisition of Jet.com is a big component of that re-ignition, and another reason readers can’t keep their eyes off Walmart’s omnichannel chess match.

But other stores shaking up their game plans also intrigued our readers, including JCPenney’s bold (well, we’ll see) decision to re-enter the appliance market, and efforts from stores like Macy’s, Best Buy and The Home Depot to build brand equity.

Other best-read stories, though, reflect that readers also love to love brands, and read about the strategies behind high-wattage success stories. Whether it’s the Denver Broncos, performers John Legend and Chrissy Teigen for Target, Nike’s ad strategy and—of course, Hatchimals, the hot Christmas toy, marketing star power has broad appeal.