Retail Watchers

Was Walmart's intent with the Neighborhood Market concept to go full on into grocery? Or was it to provide infill to offer the "super" part when a full Supercenter wasn't feasible for one reason or another. Walmart is able to compete with a full store given the other products they sell. But it seems that grocery only is a failure because they can't compete with the traditional grocers on much else than price.

mjhale wrote: ↑April 16th, 2022, 3:33 pm Was Walmart's intent with the Neighborhood Market concept to go full on into grocery? Or was it to provide infill to offer the "super" part when a full Supercenter wasn't feasible for one reason or another. Walmart is able to compete with a full store given the other products they sell. But it seems that grocery only is a failure because they can't compete with the traditional grocers on much else than price.

I don't know what their intent was, but I think they realized that it was getting harder and harder to find spaces large enough for supercenters in many regions, and a smaller format was needed to maintain growth. As the largest grocery retailer in the country, they are definitely invested in selling groceries, regardless of the format. I wouldn't call neighborhood markets a failure, most of the ones I've seen are busier than other local supermarkets. Price is probably the driving factor, especially in this inflationary environment.