Walmart Fills its Shelves with Locally Made Coffee and Mustard to Heat Up Sales

Retail giant Walmart (WMT) is increasing the amount of local and regional food in its stores to boost sales as the cost of living continues to bite.

Choosing States’ Favorite Food

The company is reportedly using technology alongside the expertise of its buyers and merchants to start offering more local items such as Cuban-inspired coffee and beans from a regional producer in its Florida stores. In other states, Walmart is selling local brands of condiments like mustard and mayonnaise.

A Walmart spokeswoman told Bloomberg that the company is trying to better understand what products are important to customers locally and move quickly to add them to store shelves.

According to retail experts, local and regional products are attractive to shoppers as they see them as either unique to their stores or more relevant to the way they live their lives or their cultural heritage.

There is also a strong sustainable argument for increasing the use of local or regional produce given the shorter traveling distance between ‘farm and fork.’

Cost of Living Bites

It also comes at a time of concern for U.S. consumers hit by rising costs such as gas and uncertainty over wider grocery inflation and the direction of interest rates. That’s down to a variety of factors such as the disruption caused by the Iran war and President Trump’s tariff strategy.

Walmart tends to hold up well during times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, relying on its long-held status as a value and trusted retailer. Its use of technology such as the AI chatbot Sparky has also been created to make shopping easier for its customers.

The company reports its Q2 figures later this month, where the true cost of the Iran war might be seen.

Is WMT a Good Stock to Buy Now?

On TipRanks, WMT has a Strong Buy consensus based on 28 Buy and 2 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $150. WMT stock’s consensus price target is $138.81, implying a 4.80% upside.