Walmart’s tariff test shows what Big Lots rivals can do better

Walmart’s tariff test shows how much a giant can absorb before shoppers feel the hit, and why that matters to Big Lots workers now watching a far thinner business model. Walmart grew fiscal-year sales 4.7 percent, kept operating margin nearly flat at 4.2 percent, and still warned in May 2025 that tariffs would force some price increases by late May and into June.

That is the scale gap in plain view. Walmart can lean on online sales, loyalty traffic, advertising, and a dense fulfillment network to defend its price image even when imported goods get more expensive. Big Lots does not have that same cushion. When costs rise, a smaller value chain has fewer places to hide, fewer vendor concessions to squeeze, and less room to carry extra inventory while waiting for customers to return.

The competitive numbers show how much harder the market has become for chains without Walmart’s reach. Target’s sales fell 1.7 percent, Kroger was roughly flat, and Albertsons rose about 3.5 percent, all while Walmart kept moving. For workers, that kind of spread usually translates into tougher day-to-day decisions: which items stay on hand, which promotions get cut, and how much store teams are expected to do with less slack in the system.

The pressure is not only corporate. Tariff uncertainty and SNAP-policy uncertainty are hitting working-class shoppers at the same time, which makes every trip more deliberate for budget-conscious households. For a value retailer, that means customers are likely to buy fewer extras, delay trips, and compare prices more aggressively. Frontline teams feel that first in lower traffic, more out-of-stock complaints, and more pressure to make every aisle look worth the trip.

Big Lots enters that fight from a weaker position. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in September 2024 after high interest rates and a sluggish housing market cut demand for its low-priced furniture and home decor. The proposed sale to Nexus Capital Management was valued at about $760 million, but the deal collapsed. By December 2024, Big Lots had laid off 555 workers at its Columbus headquarters, and later reporting showed workers dealing with store closures, layoffs, and a shrinking footprint of 219 locations.

That is why Walmart’s tariff response matters beyond one chain. It is a signal that the retailers best equipped to weather higher costs are the ones with scale, data, and multiple revenue streams. For Big Lots workers, the lesson is sharper: when the price fight tightens, management has fewer buffers to protect stores, staffing, and assortment from the squeeze.