We may be just four months into 2024, but competition among three of the main retailers in the U.S. has never been hotter.
Those three retailers, of course, are something like the three horsemen of a postpandemic world.
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Target (TGT) , Amazon (AMZN) and Walmart (WMT) all saw considerable success during and after covid because they were positioned strongly prior to the outbreak. But as busy shopping centers shut down and less-competitive businesses folded, the three came ready to split the spoils.
To be sure, each has had its difficulty, particularly in the brick-and-mortar sphere. Inventory shrink, the industry term for theft, has been steadily rising, hurting profit. And inflation has caused many shoppers to stay at home and rethink their budgets; for many, gone are the days of impulse shopping and retail therapy.
But as weaker retailers, particularly specialty stores like Party City and Joann Fabrics, shuttered across the U.S., the three giants were happy to move in and take their footprints.
Target, Amazon and Walmart have expanded and are now ubiquitous with the contactless and convenient one stop shopping consumers have come to expect.
But there's only so much runway a retailer can take in the way of convenience. Free and fast shipping: they've all got it. Membership options: check. Loyalty savings and rewards: yep. Limited-time promotional blowout sales: They've all got those, too.
Walmart expands into key industry Amazon wants
Which is why each company is now expanding into markets beyond retail. Target, for example, is going for the ministore experience, bringing in popular labels and retailers like Ulta (ULTA) so customers can shop within the shop — and Target gets valuable foot traffic.
Amazon has been expanding into premium offerings in beauty, fashion and pricey but critical industries, like health care. It's also trying to expand into drone delivery, in case your two-day shipping just isn't fast enough.
Walmart is taking a similar tack. As it rapidly expands its drone capabilities in Texas, it's also working in the state to expand its health-care offerings, which is something of a goose laying golden eggs for retailers who want to be your one-stop shop.
While Amazon tries to take its health-care online, Walmart is using its brick-and-mortar locations to draw in customers as patients. This makes sense since Walmart has at least one location within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population. How many hospital systems can say that?
The retail giant plans to add 18 new Walmart Health Centers in Texas in 2024 alone, more than quadrupling its current presence of just four centers it currently operates in the state.
Each health center will be about 5,400 square feet and operate alongside Walmart Super Centers. Care will vary from location to location, but some of the available services will include:
- Same-day primary care
- Primary care by appointment
- Dental
- Behavioral health
- Labs
- X-rays
- Community health
- Telehealth
Senior citizens will also be offered what the retailer calls value-based options for care, including on dental cleanings, annual checkups, and management of chronic conditions.
Currently, Walmart operates some 50 health locations across the U.S., mainly in the South, including in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri and Texas.
