Why Wal-Mart Suddenly Thinks Smaller is Better

At the end of the 2014 fiscal year (January 2014), Wal-Mart had 3,285 supercenters in the United States that vary in size from 180,000 square feet to 230,000 square feet. It also had 508 discount stores that were around 140,000 square feet, smaller than the supercenters because they sell very little food. There were also, according to Wal-Mart's annual report, 407 even smaller units, of which 359 are the Wal-Mart Marketplace concept. These stores average around 43,000 square foot in size and have been around since 1998.