Should Walmart Return to 24/7 Operations?

Walmart pulled back from being open round-the-clock, seven days a week at most stores during the pandemic and for now has no plans to return.

Social media posts in recent months indicated Walmart would resume 24-hour operations across the U.S., but Joe Pennington, Walmart Press Office director, told Reuters, “There are no current plans to return our stores to 24 hours of operations.” He added that the posts were false.

On March 14, 2020, the company reduced hours at Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets to be open 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. to “help ensure associates can clean and stock products.” On June 5, 2021, those hours expanded to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. as the number of vaccinated Americans grew.

However, despite global and U.S. agencies declaring an end to the COVID-19 emergency in May 2023, Walmart hours haven’t returned to 24/7.

In 2015, Walmart reduced hours at about 40 supercenters from 24/7 coverage in a pilot that some felt would lead to a nationwide pullback of hours. Bloomberg at the time indicated that the move was partly made to improve late-night restocking amid complaints over out-of-stocks as well as to save money.

An ABC News article in 2011 noticing a similar shift at some Walmart locations noted how 24-hour openings helped brand Walmart as a place for convenience. Richard Feinberg, a Purdue University retail professor, told ABC News at the time, “Even if it is not cost-effective for those overnight hours, it builds loyalty, which feeds the profitability of the other hours.”

Among its closest competitors, Target doesn’t have any 24-hour stores, with most locations closing at 10 or 11 p.m. Costco opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 8:30 p.m. at most locations.

Many other stores have reduced round-the-clock operations in recent years.

Hy-Vee in February 2020, just prior to the pandemic’s arrival, reduced its store hours from round-the-clock with most now closing at 10 or 11 p.m. H-E-B hasn’t returned to 24-hours at locations since the start of the pandemic, while Kroger and Meijer have reduced 24-hour locations in recent years.

A kcentv.com article indicated that labor shortage was another factor making it difficult to fill night shifts in recent years.

Walgreens and CVS have also reportedly reduced their 24-hour stores amid financial struggles, although many urban locations remain open continuously. QuickChek, Wawa, 7-Eleven, and several other C-stores never moved away from 24-hour coverage.

Many social media posts and some articles have lamented about the inconvenience caused by the reduction in 24-hour stores, particularly for those not working regular hours.

“It’s tough for people who work off shifts and overnights,” Corin Dively, an Olyphant, New York, resident, told the Scranton Times-Tribune. “They can’t run out after work if they need to grab things or shop on their night off when they’d be awake anyway.”

Many also like shopping in the quieter hours. One said in a Reddit post, “OK, so I’m a night owl, and I really like shopping late at night if I can. It’s way less crowded for sure — and it makes it a quicker, less stressful experience for me.”