Anecdotal evidence is just that but here is my take as a Walmart visitor 3-4 times/month...
Walmart is no longer immune from the same malady that struck big box and mall retailers some years ago, namely:
1) Shocking, visible-from-space dropoffs in the quality of goods. Walmart has always sold cheap, shapeless clothing but in addition to its Chinese origin it now features Chinese quality control or lack thereof.
2) Effects of the grocery and consumable goods shrink ray are now obvious to all. Boxes with mostly air inside, graceful swan necks on bottles meant to conceal a decrease in volume, etc. Look at all the flagship brands who now push versions marked basic, everyday, etc.
3) In both instances prices either stay the same or continue to increase.
Electronics have reached a very large plateau; with hardware platforms mostly standardized all innovation is in software - but you can’t see that on a shelf. Accessories for smartphones and tablets are of a pedestrian, cheap nature with disposability the best (?) feature.
XBox 360 was introduced in 2005, Playstation 3 in 2006, yet game publishers and retailers still expect consumers to pay full whack for the same old thing. Games can no longer be a loss leader or a same store sales magnet when the customers no longer flock to the electronics department.
Tools/hardware/automotive? CHEEEEEP. Forget the longstanding warnings about bargain basement socket sets letting you down at the worst moment; half the product on the shelves now look like they came from a child’s toy set.
Walmart is at the mercy of OEMs and vendors in most cases so much of the scorn may be misdirected but after people pay their utility bills and fill tanks with gasoline approaching $4/gas (the media blackout on this doesn’t mean it’s any cheaper nor does it filter out the engine-destroying ethanol) they have very little left even at the deepest of discounters.
Once upon a time I counted my blessings that I had survived the 70s with its shocking fashions (driven by the use of inexpensive synthetics) and horrid product design/quality only to savor the innovation and solid manufacture that engendered brand loyalty throughout the 80s and 90s.
Most iconic brands and retailers have cashed in their reputations for a share of the stack-em-high-and-sell-em-cheap pie but that pie is either shrinking, spoiled, or already gone. Walmart never let its pie get too expensive or fancy but despite their vigilance they are experiencing the same thing.
“Effects of the grocery and consumable goods shrink ray are now obvious to all”
Its getting real annoying...the other day I saw 59 oz OJ cartons and 15 oz packs of sliced meat.
While Walmart does have hand tools that meet your description, the majority of the hand tools on their shelves are of surprisingly good quality. They are several significant notches above the crap you described. The crap you described is only found in a small row of boxes on the bottom shelf base.
I am a tool addict who considers Crafstman hand tools to be mediocre, and who thinks Snap-On isn’t always the best quality available. In other words, a bit of a tool snob. And I still am surprised at the quality of some of Walmart’s offerings.