Retail giant Walmart opens first US convenience store

US retail chain Walmart has opened its first convenience store in the country.

The store, in Bentonville, Arkansas, measures 2,500sq ft and is dubbed ‘Walmart to Go’.

It has been branded a hybrid store that sells both food and fuel, as well as having food to go offerings.

Senior vice-president of small formats for Walmart, Debra Layton, stressed that the prices in the Walmart to Go store would not be more expensive than regular Walmart stores.

“Customers are saying they are so excited and surprised that this is a smaller size box that offers convenience options, but at the Walmart price,” said Layton.

Asda, which is owned by Walmart, recently admitted that it was considering opening convenience stores in the UK but wanted to wait until closer to the end of a five-year plan it announced last October.

Commenting at the time, Asda chief executive Andy Clarke said: “I am conscious there is a £36bn convenience market that we don’t have a slice of.”