Big Box Retailers Getting Smaller

Big box retailers are increasingly opening smaller format stores. Historically, the largest retailers have been continually increasing the size of stores, in some cases as large as 500,000 square feet.

However, many of the largest retailers are increasingly testing smaller footprint locations. This includes Walmart, Target, Macy’s, Kohl’s, and others. In the case of Walmart, the smaller format stores are typically grocery, but for Target, the smaller stores are for general merchandise. Target now operates about 180 small-format stores, almost 10% of its total store locations. While the typical Target averages about 135,000 square feet and can be even larger with full grocery components, the small stores measure out at about 80,000 square feet.

Macy’s smaller format stores are in the 30,000 to 50,000 square foot range, and are located in neighborhood strip malls. They started with 8 of these smaller stores in Metro Dallas, and have recently announced plans to open 30 more, by Fall of 2025.

Kohl’s currently has 20 small format stores averaging 35,000 square feet, but shared plans to open 100 more small stores by 2026, also planned for neighborhood shopping centers.

For suppliers, smaller stores means less inventory per store, smaller assortments, and less depth and breadth of merchandise than in full-size stores. Read the full story here.

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David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and Senior Business Development Consultant at Capacity Consulting, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has been co-chair of the ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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