- The first two new stores in Walmart's 150-location plan have opened in Florida and Georgia.
- The Neighborhood Markets are almost 50 percent larger than Walmart's typical grocery-focused store.
- More space means wider aisles and designated areas for pickup and delivery order fulfillment.
The first two locations in Walmart's five-year, 150-store expansion plan have opened in Florida and Georgia.
The pair of grocery-focused stores are the first new openings in Walmart's Neighborhood Market segment in more than four years.
Both locations boast a 57,000 square foot floorpan — almost 50 percent bigger than the segment's typical size — which allow for wider aisles and more space for pickup and delivery order fulfillment.
They also include amenities found in larger Walmart stores, like pharmacy and financial services, a private health consultation room, and a mother's room for nursing and infant care.
While the Florida location in the panhandle seaside town of Santa Rosa Beach is an entirely new construction, the location in Atlanta is a conversion of a former Walmart discount store that was set on fire twice in 2022.
City officials made a special appeal to Walmart to remain in the Vine City neighborhood, including a $1.5 million initiative to expand fresh grocery access in low-income communities.
The location also made headlines last year, as it was set to include a workstation for on-duty law enforcement officers.
At the start of May, Walmart had over 4,600 retail locations in the US, including 3,559 Supercenters, 357 discount stores, and 673 Neighborhood Markets.
Walmart has closed at least nine locations this year so far, but the company plans to open or begin construction another dozen locations for a total of 14 new stores this year.