expertSEM

Walmart has unveiled a new service to their website, Walmart Classifieds, an aggregator of local deals from websites, such as a Facebook, MySpace, Apartments.com, etc. Walmart Classifieds appears to be a direct competitor to craigslist which is a website full of local classifieds.

Walmart Classifieds has a pleasant look and feel to their website, making it appear credible enough. Each listing has a picture right next to the ad so visitors can see what they are purchasing. There are various local markets that people can choose from and a few added features. In the For Rent: Apartments section there is a graph on the right that gives the visitor a local pricing guide of apartments in cities around the area. The graph shows current prices and prices from six months ago. On the left the visitor can specify the zip code, price, bedrooms and other added features they want for their home. Now on to craigslist.

Not an aggregator, craigslist is a local classifieds site where people can post and buy any item. There are no ads anywhere; just a simple website. The listings are in a basic list format, and the updates are frequent; all anyone needs to do is create an item description and it will be live almost immediately.

There are differences between the two websites. Walmart is receiving its listings from Oodle and being paid to do so; craigslist is a user-driven list site that is populated by people posting what they want to sell or buy. Craigslist has a gracious amount of categories right when you land on the website; Walmart Classifieds forces you to click on a More button to show you the options that are in that particular category. I have used craigslist before, so I am partial to its interface and functionality. And the hassle of going through a few different websites to look at an apartment or buying an item is a little bit more work than I want to do. I’d rather deal with the seller one-on-one and craigslist honors that. My vote is for craigslist.

Thanks Screenwerk for showing me the Walmart Classifieds.