Walmart To Revamp 500 Stores In eCommerce Age

In an effort to keep physical retail relevant in the online commerce age, Walmart plans to revamp 500 of its U.S. brick-and-mortar locations. The refits are said to include wider aisles, self-checkouts and brighter lighting, Financial Times reported.

Individual plans encompass a $173 million investment for Florida, $265 million for Texas and $145 million for California. According to the report, the company spent roughly $2.2 billion on 500 remodels in 2018. That represented “more than a fifth” of the retailer’s total capital expenditure of $10.3 billion.

This year, Walmart reportedly plans to employ $11 billion in capital expenditures. They are not the only retailer to boost investments in revamping stores: Target made investments valued at $2.7 billion for its stores in 2018, compared to $1.63 billion in the year prior.

GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders said, according to the outlet, “All retailers are under pressure to do it, although whether and how much they’re doing it is very variable. Walmart is not doing massive refurbishments with major changes. It really is a refresh, to make the store experience a lot more pleasant.”

The news comes as it was reported last year that Walmart was redesigning its clothing departments to assist shoppers in locating new styles. The majority of the retailer’s locations would have new signage, upgraded displays and stylized photography for each brand.

At the same time, it was reported that the retailer would remodel some of its locations to have open floor plans and renovated fitting rooms. Walmart was also rolling out new fashions for women, children and men, which would be available at physical stores and online starting on March 1 of last year. New private-label brand names at the time included Terra & Sky, Wonder Nation and Time and Tru, among others.