BENTONVILLE, AK - Part of the fanfare surrounding Walmart can be attributed to its unique foodservice strategy, which has historically been headlined by its partnership with McDonald’s. According to reports that surfaced earlier this week, Walmart is now pivoting this strategy, revealing that hundreds of its in-store McDonald’s locations are set to close.

As more consumers opt to shop online and use the drive-thru, this longstanding foodservice partnership inevitably shifted. Walmart confirmed that McDonald’s will remain in 150 of its locations across the company’s 3,570 Supercenters, according to The Wall Street Journal.

As noted by the source, Walmart plans to convert these former locations into other restaurants and services with a more regional feel, such as smoothie vending machines or even ghost kitchens. In some stores, the space has been transformed into other types of shops to offer a wide range of services.

McDonald’s accelerated its plans to close the restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Chief Financial Officer Kevin Ozan announced that the fast-food chain would speed up closures that it expected in future years back in July. This includes over 100 different Walmart locations.

As to whether this shift in strategy will lead to a more fresh-focused foodservice launch, only time will tell. So, stick with us.

Walmart