(Bloomberg) -- The lighting is warm and bright, the aisles are broad and shelves display $50 silk sleep masks and soft comforters begging to be touched. 

This is deluxe Walmart.

Walmart Inc., known for selling basics at low prices, has struggled for years to bring in wealthier shoppers and compete with trendier chains like Target Corp. It widened aisles and added brands like Danskin and Dyson in 2009, tried personal shopping in 2018 and scooped up a series of online clothing brands in 2017 and 2018 only to sell them all a few years later. 

Now, the world’s biggest retailer is trying again, renovating or building more than 800 locations in the US to improve lighting, add mannequins, lower displays and feature high-end products. Racks of blazers and cargo utility pants — items it historically has not sold — are placed front and center. 

Jordan Berke, a former Walmart executive who founded Tomorrow Retail Consulting in 2019, said that the retailer has been studying online shopping patterns for years to understand what higher-income shoppers want, and this “helped it reach and get to know customers much better.” 

Walmart’s latest venture will test whether it can reach more affluent shoppers without turning away from the value-driven blueprint that’s been at the center of its business for more than 60 years. A Walmart spokeswoman said the company is focused on its core customers, while capturing more shoppers. 

Visitors are already noticing the high-end selections. Yolanda Jones, a 48-year-old analyst in St. Louis, said she was recently surprised to find duck breast in her local Walmart — the same brand she’d seen for more money at a fancier store. 

“I thought I hit the jackpot,” said Jones, who shares bargains she finds on her Facebook page as a hobby. “I’m going to keep my eye out.” 

The current store rethink hit high gear in 2019, when Alvis Washington, vice president of marketing for retail brand experience, and other Walmart executives began studying crowd movement to find better navigational tools, like easier-to-read signs and QR codes for quick online purchases.  

“Time is a currency” for customers, said Washington. “How do we make sure time is well spent for them?” 

‘Eclectic Grandpa’ Beanies

Walmart has worked to add on-trend products. The retailer’s fashion account on Instagram, which has more than 400,000 followers, recently featured a post highlighting Walmart knit beanies, sweaters and joggers that fit the “eclectic grandpa” style.

Early indications have been positive. Sales at upgraded Walmart stores are rising faster than at existing locations, Washington said. Walmart executives said during quarterly earnings in February that the company is gaining share across income groups.

Higher-income customers have been increasingly drawn to Walmart as inflation has risen in the US. Households making more than $100,000 a year were key contributors to the firm’s latest quarter, executives said, and their purchases of general merchandise like clothes and toys drove two-thirds of market share gains.

Walmart+ members, who get free delivery and scan-and-go shopping to streamline checkout, had an average household income of $65,530 in early 2024, according to Prosper Insights & Analytics, compared with $59,547 for all Walmart shoppers.

In fact, people from households making $100,000 to $150,000 a year were the second-largest group of Walmart shoppers in 2023, with about 15% of total visits, according to Placer.ai data. They were only behind shoppers making $50,000 to $75,000, who represented about 18%. 

Even deep-pocketed shoppers love a discount. At the Secaucus, New Jersey, Walmart, jars of Carbone pizza sauce, created by the exclusive restaurant chain, sell for $5.77, almost half the makers’ suggested price. Other higher-end brands like Skin Gym, Madden NYC, Rao’s and Mario Badescu are now found through the aisles. 

Rocky History

Walmart, which operates about 4,600 stores in the US, attracted a new wave of customers a decade ago, when it successfully expanded its offerings of organic foods. This quickly helped squeeze margins at higher-priced Whole Foods stores. 

But the retailer has faced a tougher time with fashion. In 2010, the company vowed to go back to basics and focus on underwear and T-shirts after attempts to go upmarket didn’t lift sales. It then purchased a number of digital brands like Bonobos and Moosejaw to reach more consumers, only to offload many of them years later. Walmart has said the acquisitions helped it expand its assortment and expertise in specialized areas.  

Despite Walmart’s previous stumbles, apparel sections in the new stores have undergone some of the biggest changes. 

The retailer has added brands like Reebok, US Polo Association and Chaps after research showed that most of its customers’ clothes were more expensive than what the retailer sold, said Denise Incandela, the company’s executive vice president of fashion and private brands. 

Incandela, who joined Walmart about six years ago after stints at Ralph Lauren Corp. and Saks Fifth Avenue Inc., has hired staff from Nordstrom Inc. and fashion houses. She wants to change customers’ preconceptions by selling things when they are popular to reach younger, higher-income shoppers. Walmart is selling on-trend blouses, jumpsuits and other products, which she said are meeting or exceeding expectations. 

In February, Walmart hosted 16 influencers at Brandon Maxwell’s show for New York Fashion Week. Maxwell serves as creative director for Walmart’s in-house Scoop and Free Assembly brands.

Clothes are now sold on lower displays so it’s easier for shoppers to browse and touch. And the company is improving the quality and style of its lower-priced basics, like socks, while testing products at dozens of stores to gauge interest. 

Drawing Boutique Brands

Boutique brands that had been hesitant to sell in Walmart stores before they had the capacity to manage big orders have found the retailer to be a helpful partner. 

Justin Gill, chief executive officer of Japanese barbecue sauce Bachan’s Inc., said in an interview that Walmart had offered his brand stronger presence on the website’s Asian American Pacific Islander heritage page and social posts to help elevate its barbeque sauce offerings. 

And Terri Rockovich, CEO of high-end dog food maker Jinx Inc., said Walmart had given her prominent in-store displays and let her brand ambassadors visit locations to explain the products’ benefits to customers. 

Rockovich, who started selling at 1,000 Walmart locations in 2022 and doubled that the following year, said she meets with the retailer’s team twice a year to discuss new offerings: “They are really pushing for innovation.”

Walmart hopes that its current mix of fashion and specialty food offerings will have younger and wealthier shoppers returning again and again. 

“This is about modernizing the brand and making it seem chic and cool,” said Oliver Chen, an analyst at TD Cowen. “Walmart is good at basics and wants to be known for more than that — and sell more than that.”

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