USA: Walmart focuses growth plans on smaller stores and alcoholic drinks

Walmart is formulating plans to invest in smaller store sizes in an attempt to kickstart growth, according to reports from Giro News and the Wall St Journal.

According to Giro News, the company’s mantra of “Everyday low prices” is no longer distinctive and the discounter has seen its price differential with rivals Target and Kroger shrink from 20% to 5% in recent years.

The new plan is to open 300 of its smaller format stores such as Walmart Express and Neighborhood Market, an approach which means that, for the first time, the number of small store openings is likely to exceed those of new supermarkets and hypermarkets.

This move is the first major strategic change for the Walmart group under new CEO Doug McMillon. Further changes are said to include shifting the company’s approach to online pricing from “everyday low prices” to more dynamic pricing, reportedly modelled on the system used by online retailer Amazon.

Meanwhile, alcoholic drinks have also been targeted by the retailer as an avenue for growth. The  group is reportedly mulling plans to open dedicated liquor stores in states where the sale of alcohol inside supermarkets is banned.

Source: Giro News / Wall St Journal