In a world where delivery is increasingly shifting as shoppers’ preferred way to procure supplies, brick and mortar retail stores have to get creative to keep their foot traffic up. 

Delivery companies like DoorDash  (DASH) – Get Free Report and Uber  (UBER) – Get Free Report are rapidly gaining market share and adding new stores to their services monthly. Busy customers who rarely have time to pop into three different plazas for weekly staples are increasingly turning to delivery companies to ease the burden of their schedules. 

Related: Walmart closing more stores in 2024

So the impetus for physical retail stores has been twofold. First, many are either working with delivery companies to expand their reach or rolling out their own delivery services. 

The second method has been to broadly improve the in-store experience, in the hopes that it will translate to more people coming through the doors. Retailers are judged harshly on comps, or same-store-sales, which compares the performance of a store during the current period to its performance one year prior. 

But renovation is a lengthy and pricey process, and only the biggest retailers can afford to markedly improve an experience. 

Some have been taking cues from incumbents like Wegman’s, which has always offered a grocery store-restaurant hybrid, with wine on tap in some stores and full-on food courts for bored or hungry shoppers. Most Whole Foods now have robust food courts and cafes, some even offer happy hour promotions and live music. Many Targets  (TGT) – Get Free Report have Starbucks  (SBUX) – Get Free Report near their entries to encourage shoppers to enjoy a coffee and linger. 

Walmart planning multi-billion dollar renovation

And now Walmart  (WMT) – Get Free Report is planning a similar renovation that will bring its stores into a similar echelon. 

The retailer says it’s invested over $9 billion over the past two years to update over 1,400 stores across the U.S. 

Here are some of those changes, according to Walmart: 

• Updated interiors and exteriors
• New paint, signs, shopping carriages
• More spacious, navigable aisles
• New checkout design
• Bigger, more centrally-located pharmacies
• Refreshed vision centers with more designer eyewear
• Interactive corner displays featuring home designs, bedding, and furniture
• Interactive digital displays to learn more about products
• More space for Pickup & Delivery options
• Seasonal items in the dollar shop
• Grab & Go section with fresh meals and drinks

Walmart says it plans to continue the remodel in 2024, and some of its stores will benefit from a particular emphasis on new food offerings. 

Walmart has offered fast food options in-store from restaurants like McDonald’s  (MCD) – Get Free Report, Subway, Charleys Philly Steaks, Domino’s  (DPZ) – Get Free Report, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s  (WEN) – Get Free Report. But it’s planning to bring a more localized favorite to even more of its stores in the coming year. 

Starting in 2024, Walmart will expand poke bar offerings via a new partnership with Uncle Sharkii Poke Bar. Over the next five months, Walmart will start opening fast food-style poke bars. Ten locations are expected in California and three will be in Utah. 

The franchise already has over 12 locations inside Walmart stores in California, Utah, Hawaii and Texas. 

“This is a monumental step in a major push to achieve Uncle Sharkii’s mission to bring ‘Affordable Poke Bowls to the Masses,'” CEO of Uncle Sharkii, Fen Reyes, said. 

Uncle Sharkii opened its first location in Walmart in October 2023 and has been quickly expanding. If offers items like traditional seafood poke bowls, vegetarian options, and milk tea.