Wal-Mart struggles after SNAP cuts

More than 47 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aka food stamps. Last year, that amounted to more than $70 billion redeemed back into the economy, with about half of food stamps used at big-box retailers like Target and Walmart.

That adds up to about $18 billion for Wal-Mart, according to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek. However, the retailer anticipated becoming “more relevant” as more food-stamp users would shop its stores in search of low prices.

The retailer announced last week that same-store sales have fallen for the third straight quarter. Reasons? Customers are heading to dollar stores looking for even lower prices; and overall consumers, concerned about the economy and the safety of their own jobs, are not buying what they don’t absolutely have to have. As a result, Wal-Mart has now stated it expects “relatively flat” sales this holiday season.

Read more from Bloomberg.