In its hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart opened the first Walmart 'to Go' store this week, featuring fresh foods (including bulk produce items like bananas and oranges as well as precut carrots and celery sticks and fresh fruits), prepared foods, frozen foods and coolers of refrigerated foods.
The hybrid store combines traditional grocery fare with quick-serve deli options (prepared salads, hot smoked meats and sandwiches) and shelf-stable snack items typical of a convenience store.
The retailer is working with Bentonville Butcher & Deli to run a quick service meat and sides counter in the back of the store. The store also features a Krispy Kreme doughnut stand, a coffee station and soda and Icee fountains.
Deisha Barnett, senior director of corporate communications at Walmart, told Arkansas Business that the company had no plans to build additional Walmart to Go stores at this point. Items sold in the 2,500 square-foot location are "priced at Wal-Mart everyday low prices," she said.
Walmart's testing of this new convenience concept is in line with the company's intention to speed up openings of its small store formats, Walmart Neighborhood Market and Walmart Express.
The multinational's US CEO Bill Simon said earlier this month that the retailer has just 10% of the convenience marketshare and is vying for more with the hybrid stores that can serve consumer fill-in trips, which Wal-Mart estimates to be 40% of their grocery spend.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
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