One of the other big changes? Price signs are smaller near the national apparel brands and Walmart's elevated clothing brands - a big break from the retailer's tendency to make the numbers big and bold. Walmart gives direct-to-consumer brands that resonate with younger, social media-savvy customers more square footage in the stores, too, including shaving company Billie and dog food company Jinx.
And it puts Walmart's own fashion and home brands front and center with mannequins and displays that suggest how to put together an outfit or a room. It has dedicated areas that resemble mini shops for national brands, such as Reebok and kids clothing brand Justice. Inside of the redesigned store in Northwest Arkansas, the clothing department has fewer racks and wider aisles to encourage browsing. "They were having to go somewhere else to get what they want from a style and quality standpoint, so we said, 'We've got to fix that,'" he said in an interview. Walmart attracted consumers for basics and groceries, but was losing them when they shopped for other items, Redfield said. "Can we move some volume into apparel and home and maybe even some of the consumable categories as people become even more value-conscious?" "As you move up the income scale, how many of those customers can you attract in the areas you might not have been doing business with them as frequently?" he said. It will have those low prices not only on key food items like rice, cans of tuna and macaroni and cheese, but also on general merchandise like T-shirts and tennis balls.īut it can also draw in customers who have more money to spend, McMillon said. "There are going to be groups of people who find themselves at Walmart who normally wouldn't - so they may get a better flow of customers as people become more value-conscious."ĬEO Doug McMillon said Walmart's range will help it better weather a period of inflation.Īt an investor day earlier this month, he and other Walmart executives stressed that the retailer will continue to offer entry-level price points for customers who live on a tight budget. "Everybody is sort of managing inflation," Ohmes said. Plus, he said, creeping prices may encourage a new or infrequent Walmart shopper to give the discounter a shot. There's a big opportunity for Walmart if it can use the frequency of grocery shopping at stores and popularity of online options like curbside pickup to lift general merchandise sales, said Robby Ohmes, a retail analyst for Bank of America. At Target, 54% of sales come from general merchandise, according to its most recent annual report. That dropped to 28% in the most recent quarter. net sales have come from general merchandise in recent years, according to company filings. He estimated that about 20% of that overage is merchandise that the company would like to "just wish away." The company declined to comment further on its strategy to sell through its merchandise, after Target shared its aggressive inventory plans.Ībout 32% of Walmart's U.S. CEO, John Furner, said last week at an investor day that it will take "a couple of quarters" to get back to where the retailer wants to be. Walmart reported that it had excess merchandise, too, with inventory levels up about 33% versus a year earlier. To compound troubles, retailers - including Target, Kohl's and American Eagle Outfitters - have racked up excess inventory, as consumers snub some popular pandemic items, watch the budget and decide to spend on travel or dining out instead of goods.