Walmart Tests C-Store Prototype in Texas Suburb

Crowley Walmart features a new c-store concept at the fueling station.

February 20, 2017

DALLAS – The Dallas Business Journal reports that Walmart is catering to how and where its customers want to shop by piloting a convenience store concept at one of its Crowley, Texas, locations.

Walmart recently opened a 2,500-square-foot convenience store next to its fueling station in Rogers, Arkansas, and a similar location in Fort Worth, Texas. The news source says that both locations are pilot stores and that Walmart has no immediate plans to expand the concept to additional locations.

Anne Hartfield, spokesperson for Walmart, told the news source that the retailer chose Crowley for its proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth market and access to I-35. “It’s easy to get off the highway and keep going,” she said.

Inside the convenience store, customers will find common c-store fare such as hot foods and snacks, beverages, coffee and beer, as well as healthy options like fruit cups and salads.

The news source notes that Walmart has offered kiosks for years at its fueling stations, but they have not offered a variety of products offered at larger convenience stores. Hartfield added that expanding the c-store concept is another way to make picking up items on-the-go easier for Walmart customers.

“With shopping and retail today, convenience is so important. So is saving folks time, as well as money,” Hartfield told the news source. “Our customers know they’ll find the lowest prices with us, so now we want to improve the convenience to save them time as well.”

Walmart is testing another c-store concept in Thornton, Colorado, and Huntsville, Alabama, where customers can buy fuel and pick up online grocery orders. The company also opened a new Supercenter in Tomball, Texas, last week that uses in-store technology that allows customers to scan items as they shop, similar to Amazon’s new concept, Amazon Go.

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