DALLAS, TX - It looks like everything isn’t always bigger in Texas, or at least, not for Walmart. The retail giant is downsizing in its latest venture and testing a smaller format convenience store, dubbed the “Walmart Fuel Station.” After opening a few locations last year, Walmart is expanding its c-store test to include more locations in Texas this year, according to a report by Dallas Business Journal.
“It’s another piece of our efforts with online deliveries and curbside pickup towers. It’s all about choices. It is another way Walmart is offering our customers choice and convenience that save time,” said Anne Hatfield, Walmart’s Director of Communications for Texas. “We often test new services and concepts in Dallas-Fort Worth. Dallas is a great market for us and a very important market.”
After the success of its c-store in Crowley, Texas, Hatfield noted Walmart opened a 2,900-square-foot convenience store last week in Plano, Texas, and expects to open three more locations in Arlington, Lake Worth, and The Colony, Texas, later this year. The retailer is also eyeing Avon, Ohio, as another hot spot.
All locations feature fruits, snacks, lunch options, doughnuts, coffee stations, and a variety of deli items and currently only exist in Walmart Supercenter parking lots that didn’t already have gasoline pumps. No freestanding locations are planned for now as Hatfield emphasizes the c-stores are still in testing stages.
Will Walmart test success and expand its c-store format across the nation to rival Target and other retail competitors? Stick with us as we follow all retail developments.
