Walmart Extends Holdings in Campus Retail Market

By Elizabeth Putfark

No one appreciates discount shopping like college students. So it should come as no surprise that since  2011, Walmart has been developing a new concept for college retail that bucks the traditional box-store model and offers students a new way to shop.

Now, they’ve opened their fifth Walmart on Campus at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

“We’re always looking at new ways to take care of our customers,” Walmart spokesperson John Forrest Ales told the National Real Estate Investor.

Each store ranges from 2,000 to 6,000 square feet and offers merchandize tailored to match the needs of the unique campus community it serves. In addition to being smaller and more personalized, the stores also break with the warehouse design of larger stores. Instead, they’re built to match the style and architecture of surrounding shops, fitting in neatly with other convenient downtown storefronts.

Walmart on Campus, however, still offers the same convenience of larger models. Each unit features a pharmacy, general merchandise section and grocer complete with fresh produce, meats, dry goods and other consumables. Students may choose the convenience of shopping in store, or they may take advantage of free shipping from Walmart.com directly to their on Campus location.

The first Walmart on Campus was opened in January, 2011 at the University of Arkansas. In the years following, Walmart opened on Campus branches at Georgia Tech University, the University of Missouri and Arizona State University.

The success of Walmart’s newest venture seems to indicate a growing retail market on and near college campuses, where students are often limited to buses and bicycles for transportation, and parking is always scarce. The more options that are available within walking distance, the less time students need to spend shopping for necessities.

And if those options can be as affordable as the leading national discount chain, all the better.

College student are always looking for ways to save money. Keep up to date with those offerings as well as other college student news here.