Cost of living costs that seem to be increasing exponentially, ballooning inflation rates, and stagnant job markets in recent months have all been contributing factors to the widespread state of under performance faced by the retail industry at large. Walmart, the popular big box retailer has been feeling the pinch and has made the sad decision to close down several of its stores.
The retail landscape in its entirety has been changing and evolving, however, after the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdown restrictions, we saw the biggest change in years in the way stores operate and thus, e-commerce took over. This is not to say online shopping had not previously existed but it had never been available at such a large scale. The fallout of consumer’s preference for online shopping was a downtick in brick and mortar stores with almost every retailer in the industry making the decision to downsize and restructure their operations so as to remain relevant. This appears to be the case for Walmart as well.
Walmart closes some of its doors
Despite being one of the top grocers and retailers in the industry, the big box giant has been facing a tougher time than usual for a various number of reasons. As such the company has tried to change things up by revamping some stores with the hopes of attracting new customers but to no avail it seems as eleven locations have been closed with the company citing under performance as the reason.
Some locations around the United States, particularly in Texas, were chosen for a pilot program wherein employees at the stores would wear body cameras. This pilot program aimed to enforce a safer workplace for employees in the case of any run-ins with shoppers, particularly during stressful periods like Black Friday and the overall festive period. This implementation of body cameras was not well received for the most part. The head of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, Stuart Appelbaum even noted that “workers need training on de-escalation. Workers need training on what to do during a hostile situation at work. The body camera doesn’t do that. The body camera doesn’t intervene.”
The retailer also made the surprising decision to shut down fifty-one of its health centers, spanning across five states. The reason for the closure of these health centers was cited as an “unsustainable business model,” according to the company. Despite these closures, the retailer will still have close to 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3000 vision centers in operation across the country.
This news was then followed by news of the closure of another eleven stores across the country. When asked about the reasoning behind these closures, a spokesperson for Walmart said, “While our underlying business is strong, this store hasn’t performed as well as we hoped.”
List of stores that have been closed
Below is the list of the eleven stores that have ceased operations by the end of the 2024 year:
California
- 605 Fletcher Parkway, El Cajon
- 40580 Albrae St., Fremont
- Neighborhood Market – 4080 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay
- 2121 Imperial Ave., San Diego
- 2753 E. Eastland Center Drive, West Covina
Colorado
- 10400 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora
Georgia
- 4725 Ashford Dunwoody Rd., Dunwoody
- 3101 Roswell Rd., Marietta
Maryland
- 1238 Putty Hill Ave., Towson
Ohio
- 3579 S. High St., Columbus
Wisconsin
- Neighborhood Market – 7025 W. Main St., Milwaukee
Future plans for Walmart
In 2020, Walmart launched its online shopping platform called Walmart+, likely an attempt to save to company’s bottom line during the lockdown. The program has shown great success and growth over the years and recently at the 2024 Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference, CEO Doug McMillon has shared that, “the company is working to grow customer enrollment in the program.”