Walmart is focusing on remodeling stores, adding pickup towers, and expanding online grocery delivery in an effort to grab a greater share of the U.S. grocery market.
As part of a USD 11 billion (EUR 8.9 billion) capital expenditure plan, Walmart will remodel 500 stores and open 20 new stores this year – a shift in focus from previous years, when it opened many more new locations.
As part of the plan, Walmart’s Florida stores will garner a significant investment from the massive retailer, with a USD 200 million (EUR 162 million) investment in opening and remodeling 43 stores “as well as the rollout of several in-store and online innovations designed to help busy customers save time and money,” Walmart said in a press release. Those innovations include an increase in Pickup Towers, online grocery pickup, and Mobile Express Scan and Go.
Walmart is adding 500 additional Pickup Towers to stores across the country, bringing its total to more than 700 by the end of the year. With this expansion, Pickup Towers will be available to nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population, according to Walmart.
In addition, Walmart and logistics firm Postmates are partnering to expand the retailer’s popular Online Grocery Delivery option to more than 40 percent of U.S. households. Postmates started working with Walmart in Charlotte, North Carolina, the companies announced on 10 April, adding that further expansion is planned in coming months.
“With our growing fleet of 160,000 couriers, we are confident that we’ll be providing Walmart customers with the ultimate convenience,” Postmates senior vice president and merchant lead Dan Mosher said in a Walmart press release.
Amazon, one of Walmart’s primary competitors in grocery delivery, also announced it was upping its online ordering and home delivery service by expanding into Los Angeles. Whole Foods delivery via Amazon Prime Now first launched in February and is now available in seven cities, with plans for continued expansion across the U.S. throughout the rest of the year, according to Amazon.
“Prime members across greater Los Angeles and Orange County – along the coast from Santa Monica to San Clemente, Pasadena to the north, and Yorba Linda to the east – can shop through Prime Now for bestselling items including fresh produce, high-quality meat and seafood, everyday staples and other locally sourced items from Whole Foods Market,” Amazon said in a statement.
