Walmart is testing “dark stores” in Dallas that resemble a typical store, but have no signage and customers cannot come in. The store instead exists as a hub to speed up fulfillment and delivery of popular products ordered online by customers. The company also has another dark store in the works for Bentonville, Arkansas, where Walmart's corporate headquarters are, according to Bloomberg sources.
Walmart provided an incredibly ambiguous comment about the dark stores:
“We regularly test new tools, features, and capabilities to better connect with and serve our customers – wherever and however they choose to shop. Regardless of the channel, our goal remains the same: to deliver a fast, seamless, and engaging customer experience.”
Didn't Walmart already try this?
Yes, Walmart operated a handful of similar warehouse hubs during the mid-2010s through the pandemic before closing them. Perhaps it didn't make economic sense at the time to continue running those stores, however, online sales volume has significantly picked up. Online global revenue for Walmart has grown from around $13B in 2015 to over $100B annually 10 years later, and the company has since added new online categories like pharmaceuticals.
Also, Walmart launched its Walmart+ subscription service in 2020, offering unlimited free delivery from stores on orders $35 or more to compete with Amazon Prime, which now has tens of millions of members. In 2025, Walmart now has even more incentive to reduce the cost of last-mile delivery, which smaller regional dark stores can help with by reducing the distance between the fulfillment center and a customer's home.
Amazon's not letting Walmart have all the fun though.
Amazon announced its intention to bring same-day and next-day delivery of “everyday essentials” to “tens of millions” of households in more than 4,000 smaller cities, towns, and rural communities by the end of 2026. The company has already expanded its fast delivery options to over 1,000 small or rural communities this year and reports that over 90% of the top 50 items purchased for same-day delivery are everyday essential items.
The battle between Walmart and Amazon continues…