Why Are There No Walmarts In New York City? 

Walmart is one of the leading grocery store chains in the United States, with multiple stores open around the country, serving millions of customers their needs every single day.

Despite this overwhelming success, Walmart has proven relatively unsuccessful in cities like New York City. So if you are wondering why this is, here is what I discovered.

Why Are There No Walmarts In New York City? 

Walmart does not have a store in New York City due to price, competition, and the city’s grid system. New York City has high real estate making it very expensive to operate its large stores. In addition, Walmarts wider spread store layouts do not fit into the New York grid structure of the city.  

To find out more, read on!

Is Walmart viewed Negatively by New York Residents?

Cities are already largely metropolitan areas with increasingly young and politically aware populations, as well as many small businesses and entrepreneurs.

As a result of this, plans to build Walmart stores in New York City have often been heavily rejected by residents.

Walmart has accrued a sizable negative reputation over its many years, based on criticisms surrounding employee pay, working conditions, and their cutting of health insurance.

Because of all these reasons, NYC residents have actively been working to avoid any Walmart stores in the city.

What Grocery Chains Are There In New York City?

Even though Walmart is not available to residents of New York City, there are still multiple similar stores that offer the same shopping experience. These include:

  • Target 
  • Sears
  • K-Mart 
  • Best Buy

These stores offer essentials that their customers will need, and do not focus heavily on extras, unlike Walmart.

Have Walmart Competitors got a More Positive Reputation in New York?

Unlike Walmart, chains such as Target have managed to create positive reputations through purposeful advertising, and even due to their support of numerous charitable organizations and programs.

Shaking off a bad reputation is already a very difficult task for any large corporation, and so far, any attempts by Walmart have proven very largely unsuccessful in the young and politically aware population of New York City.

Are There Any Other Cities In The United States That Do Not Have A Walmart?

As well as New York City, a number of other United States cities have chosen to go without Walmart stores. This includes:

  • San Francisco 
  • Detroit 
  • Seattle 
  • Boston

Similar to New York City, local businesses perceive Walmart as encroaching on their customer base; due to Walmart catering to many needs.

Walmart largely caters to families in suburban areas with mass domestic needs. These families will often choose to do their grocery shopping in bulk.

With New York and other cities boasting more young populations, this need for bulk buying is minimized.

Can Walmart Deliver To New York City? 

Walmart now offers a dedicated delivery service to New York residents’ doors, as well as other cities. This is part of a new effort to sell to these markets despite the lack of interest in stores opening in these cities.

If you are looking to learn more about Walmart, you can also see my posts on why some people think Walmart is evil and also some interesting statistics about their business.

To find out more, you can also see our posts on Walmart’s target market, worse Walmart in America, and what is Walmart.

Conclusion: Why Are There No Walmarts In New York City?

New York City does not have any large-scale Walmart stores due to massive pushback from local populations who see the supermarket giant as a threat to smaller businesses. However, Walmart does still deliver to New York City residents, so as not to miss out on such a lucrative market. 

Photo of author

Marques Thomas

Marques Thomas graduated with a MBA in 2011. Since then, Marques has worked in the retail and consumer service industry as a manager, advisor, and marketer. Marques is also the head writer and founder of QuerySprout.com.

1 thought on “Why Are There No Walmarts In New York City? ”

Leave a Comment