INDUSTRY NEWS | ANALYSIS
Walmart plans 20 new stores, 650 remodels Refresh to enhance in-store experience, incorporate digital elements
“Many Neighborhood Markets are receiving expanded deli and hot bar selections, improved lighting and fixtures, pharmacy delivery options and upgraded areas for fulfilling online grocery orders,” Walmart said in a statement this week. The company had previously said the rapid remodels will also include upgrades to the checkout areas designed to reduce wait times, and tools to help workers locate product quickly and assist shoppers. The planned remodels appear to be dis- tributed across the country, according to local reports. The Walmart spokesperson declined to disclose the full list of locations that are scheduled for remodeling. A partial list of stores slated for remodel based on local reports list includes: REMODELS SCATTERED ACROSS THE U.S. • 72 stores in Texas • 58 stores in Florida • 56 stores in California • 37 stores in North Carolina • 32 stores in Pennsylvania • 24 stores in New York • 18 stores in Ohio • 15 stores in Michigan • 13 stores in Georgia • 12 stores each in New Jersey and Indiana • 11 stores in Illinois • 10 stores in Connecticut Walmart said it had already opened three new supercenters this year in East- vale, Calif., and in Jacksonville and The Villages, Fla. It also opened a Neighborhood Market in Ocala, Fla. Among the new-store openings planned for later this year are a new supercenter in Celina, Texas, and the expansion of the supercenter in Tucson, Ariz. Last year Walmart opened nine new stores in Alabama, California, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Utah. —Mark Hamstra
The remodels call for “new digital touchpoints” that will blend the in-store and online shopping experience.
WALMART said it plans to open about 20 new stores in 2026 and early 2027, more than double the number of new stores opened in 2025. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer also said it would remodel about 650 supercen- ters and Neighborhood Markets, about the same number of total remodels as last year. Walmart last year unveiled its Store of the Future concept as the blueprint for ongoing remodeling efforts. In addition to wider aisles and expanded assortments, remodeled stores could also include updated vision centers, and many of the new and remodeled stores’ phar- macies will be reconfigured to include private consultation rooms. The remodels also call for “new digital touchpoints” that will blend the in-store and online shopping experience. “One way we are bringing our online assortment into our stores is QR codes
beside displays, like in Home and Baby,” a spokesperson for Walmart told Supermar- ket News. “The QR code links directly to products, so our customers can order and have them shipped and delivered right to their homes.” Walmart also said it is expanding pickup and delivery services at the stores, includ- ing express delivery options. Store exteriors and grounds will also receive new signage and improved parking and landscaping, the company said. As previously reported, a handful of the company’s Neighborhood Markets—the retailer’s traditional supermarket format— are in the midst of a “rapid remodel” program in which the main areas of the stores are closed for four weeks while the pharmacies and fuel stations remain open. EXPANDED OFFERINGS AT NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETS
6 SUPERMARKETNEWS.COM SPRING 2026
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