What: Walmart pilots dark stores for online order fulfilment, marking its first venture into dedicated e-commerce facilities while achieving online profitability.

Why it is important: The initiative shows Walmart's strategic transformation from traditional retail to an integrated omnichannel operation focused on efficient delivery.

Walmart is testing dark stores - physical locations that fulfil online orders but are not open to the public - starting with a pilot in Dallas and planning another location in Bentonville, Arkansas. These facilities will stock the retailer's most popular products to streamline online fulfilment operations. The initiative comes as Walmart achieves e-commerce profitability for the first time in Q1, with digital sales growing 21%. The company has significantly reduced e-commerce net delivery costs through denser last-mile deliveries and customer fees for faster delivery services. Walmart expects to reach 95% of the U.S. population with delivery options of three hours or less, with deliveries under three hours growing 91% in Q1 compared to the previous year. Despite recent job cuts and concerns about tariff-related price increases, the company reported Q1 revenue growth of 2.5% to $165.6 billion.

IADS Notes: Walmart's dark store pilot represents a significant evolution in its e-commerce strategy. According to Financial Times' February 2025 coverage , the company has successfully transformed into a tech-retail powerhouse, with e-commerce now representing 18% of its $681 billion revenue. CSA's May 2025 report revealed how Walmart's next-generation fulfilment centres are enabling next-day or two-day shipping to 95% of the U.S. population. Retail Dive's February 2024 analysis showed how the retailer reduced last-mile delivery costs by 20% through increased e-commerce density and improved route efficiency. Retail Dive's September 2024 coverage highlighted Walmart's expansion into third-party fulfilment services, demonstrating how the company is leveraging its infrastructure to create new revenue streams. The Dallas dark store pilot, combined with planned expansion to Bentonville, shows how Walmart continues to innovate in fulfilment solutions while maintaining profitability in its e-commerce operations.

Walmart tests dark stores