New HBC-laundry aisle merch test aims to clean up supercenter inconvenience

BENTONVILLE, Ark. —Walmart has added an assortment of key health, beauty and personal care items to the laundry and household chemicals aisle of select stores in an effort to make the large units easier to shop.

At the retailer’s newest store in Rogers, Ark., the company has taken a 12-ft. section adjacent to laundry detergent and fabric softeners and inserted top-selling brands of bath soap, shampoo, feminine care, oral care and personal grooming. No nonprescription medicines or Walmart store brands are included in the offering at the store in Rogers.

The move addresses a key convenience shortcoming of Walmart’s supercenters as the majority of them are currently laid out. Typically, the pharmacy and all related health categories are located on the side of the store opposite from the food and consumables categories, which are responsible for generating the majority of customer traffic. That means customers who need a few toiletry items are forced to the other side of a 200,000-sq.-ft. store to satisfy their needs. Walmart has addressed this situation in newer prototypes and recently remodeled stores where the pharmacy and related health and beauty care departments undergo a major transformation and are given a new location adjacent to food.