• Ad Age, Monday, November 12, 2007 1:01 PM

Only 4% of people believe Wal-Mart's new advertising claim that it saves the average family $2,500 annually, according to a survey to be released today by Wal-Mart Watch. The study Wal-Mart uses to back that claim, in fact, doesn't say people need to shop at Wal-Mart to get the savings. It says that "the existence of Wal-Mart saves the average family $2,500 a year."

Global Insight, the author of the Wal-Mart study on which the claims are based, says some of the savings are a result of rival retailers becoming more efficient and lowering their prices in response to competition from Wal-Mart. The report also notes that the net increase in purchasing power due to Wal-Mart averages only $1,122 annually after the retailer's depression of wages is factored in.

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman says that Wal-Mart ads and press releases do not specify that people need to shop at Wal-Mart to get all of the savings. But that's a distinction that has been lost in much of the news coverage. Media outlets, including "Good Morning America," The Washington Post and Advertising Age, all have reported that shopping at Wal-Mart saves the average family $2,500.

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