Christian Goods Big Seller for Wal-Mart

Sept. 16 -- — Wal-Mart has seen the light. The world's biggest retailer has discovered Christian-themed merchandise is one of the fastest-growing categories around.

With offerings ranging from best-selling books and videos including The Purpose-Driven Life and Veggie Tales, Wal-Mart's annual sales from Christian-themed merchandise, which is estimated to already exceed $1 billion annually, is growing at a rapid pace.

On a companywide basis, Wal-Mart now offers 550 different Christian music titles and more than 1,200 Christian book titles. While Sears and Target sell Christian music, neither has pursued the Christian product category as aggressively as Wal-Mart, says C. Britt Beemer, chairman and founder of America's Research Group, a consumer behavior research and strategic marketing firm.

"Right now, this category is not even a drop in the bucket for Wal-Mart," says Beemer, referring to the retailer's revenue of $239.82 billion in 2002. "It will just keep getting bigger and bigger for them, which is why Wal-Mart is looking at this as a huge opportunity for the future."

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It is not surprising the retailer is pursuing the Christian market. The folksy company's founder, Sam Walton, extolled the belief that each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.

And the company takes its customers' demands very seriously. It recently made headlines when it put plastic blinders on several top-selling women's titles (because of customer complaints of indecency) and banned entirely from its shelves magazines such as Stuff, FHM and Maxim, which use racy covers to attract young male readers.

Wal-Mart's foray into Christian-themed merchandise has not gone unnoticed by the 8,000 small Christian retailers scattered around the U.S. "These small retail businesses could easily double their business and still be at half of their potential if it were not for the fact that they are now facing Wal-Mart as a competitor," says Beemer.