In all my time at Walmart, the pace of change has never been faster – driving innovation and expecting evolution.
This week is a great example, as we celebrate the re-grand opening of 117 remodeled stores across the country, an investment of more than half a billion dollars in 30 states. For us, this is a huge deal. It’s the largest single-day rollout of re-grand openings in the history of Walmart, and while massive in its own right, this week’s events are but a tile in the mosaic – we’ve invested over $9 billion in the past two years to upgrade more than 1,400 stores across the country. Each store is designed to deliver a more modern shopping experience and improve the lives of our associates and customers from the moment they step into the new space.
Every change is thoughtful. They all ladder up to a greater goal: to meet our customers wherever they are, leveraging our stores to welcome people to a more modern, highly-connected Walmart. Whether you’re walking in just to wander, grabbing a quick snack and dashing or using our Pickup & Delivery service, every one of our remodeled stores is ready to improve that experience.
How? More change. Let’s go shopping:
Before you even walk in you’ll notice the updates. Refreshed exteriors and interiors feature new paint, new signs and more shopping carts, creating a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. The fronts of the stores are totally transformed too, with new checkout design based on customer feedback.
As you continue your journey through the store, you’ll notice even more.
Tying us closer to the communities we serve are expanded pharmacies and updated vision centers. Many pharmacies have moved toward the front of the store, with new private screening rooms for pharmacist consultations and services. The vision center experience is designed around customers too, offering an expanded assortment of designer eyeglasses and sunglasses plus prescription options.
New activated corners feature novel displays that let customers interact with items, while other departments are pulling big and bulky merchandise from boxes so customers can touch, feel and visualize how it fits into their lives. And when you want to learn more about something, we have an answer for that too, as digital touchpoints have been placed throughout the store to provide more info on products and services.
All the while, you might feel something else: more room. We’ve laid out our reopened stores to feature more space, making exploration and experience easier than ever. While this is good news for our customers, it’s great news for our associates, whose jobs become easier when space expands. Whether they’re picking orders for delivery, or helping a customer locate a spice blend to perfect their latest culinary creation, more room makes it easier for our associates to do their jobs. And more room creates a better digital experience too, as expanded areas for our growing Pickup & Delivery business mean regardless of how a customer chooses to shop with us, they’ll benefit from our upgrades.
As you loop back toward checkout, you’ll see how we’ve underlined our commitment to our core principle of saving people money so they can live better. There’s a new dollar shop with seasonally-relevant products at Every Day Low Prices. And a Grab & Go section makes it easy for you to grab a wrap, sandwich or a cold drink. Alternatively, you could feed the whole family by taking home an entire rotisserie chicken. Whatever you’re looking for, we’re making it easier for you to find.
Head to any one of our refreshed checkout areas for an easy end to the trip, and don’t forget the Walmart+ express lane or the touch-free ease of Walmart Pay.
We have plans to continue our remodel program into 2024, bringing updated stores to more of the communities we serve. No matter how you shop, Walmart is ready to make the experience exceptional. See you in-store.
