Walmart debuts 'store of the future' conceptual design in Washington

The new design includes wider aisles, new signage, new displays and a more digitally-enabled shopping experience.

“It’s a more state-of-the-art shopping experience,” Tina King, store people lead, said of the remodel. “Going forward, this concept will go in all stores eventually.”

The renovated store has 11-foot aisles in the grocery section, upgraded registers for check-out and interactive smart screens that offer more contextual information. The store is also posting more QR codes strategically on more products and in more areas. Additionally, the store is offering more higher-end apparel brands like Reebok and Justice according to Anderson. 

“We have more self check-out registers than we did before, but we didn’t lose any of the registers that are manned by our associates,” Anderson said. 

The remodeling work – which Anderson said cost approximately $6 million – began in August. He said that the last part of the renovation will be completed in January and includes adding coverings to the outside parking area where shoppers pick-up merchandise delivered to their vehicles. 

“These (parking) spots will be protected from the weather when we are done,” Anderson added. 

A Walmart press release said the ‘store of the future’ concept was inspired by airport way-finding systems as best-in-class examples of how to direct large groups of people. The company developed design changes to replicate these navigational efficiencies, which are intended to move large groups of people more quickly.