NEW YORK — New York City residents think Wal-Mart is tough on its employees and on small businesses, but said they would shop there if a Wal-Mart store was convenient to them, a new survey from Quinnipiac University said Friday.
Wal-Mart has said it intends to open stores in New York City for the first time, but has met opposition from unions and some elected officials.
The poll revealed that 57% of residents said City Council should allow the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer to put stores in the city and that 68% would shop at a Wal-Mart if it were convenient. In addition, the poll said 74% of New Yorkers believed Wal-Mart’s prices would benefit the city, even as 68% of them said that Wal-Mart would hurt smaller businesses nearby. Around 47% said they felt Wal-Mart would not pay employees enough, with 19% disagreeing and 33% undecided.
“This is a union town, but New Yorkers will put their money where their mouth isn't,” Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement.
