Is walmart open 24 hours a day

Workforce Solutions of Central Texas explains how several factors are holding companies like Walmart and H-E-B back from pre-COVID-19 hours.

TEMPLE, Texas — Shoppers may be packing Central Texas grocery stores this holiday season, but shoppers hoping to see 24-hour store hours are going to be disappointed.

6 News reached out to both Walmart and H-E-B Monday asking if any locations would return to staying open 24-7.  Walmart Press Office Director Charles Crowson said no. 

"During COVID, Walmart adjusted its store hours to 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time. There are no plans at this time to modify those hours," Crowson said in an email. 

H-E-B did not respond to the question at the time this article was published.

Charley Ayres, the Workforce Solutions of Central Texas Director of Industry and Education Partnerships, told 6 News companies are unlikely to return to 24 hours for several reasons.

The first of those is staffing. 

"In the last 12 months, we've have 8,100 job postings for retail jobs," Charley Ayres said. "Roughly 2,000 of those were job posting from Walmart."

Ayres said Walmart needed people at both local stores and their distribution center. He said H-E-B also had hundreds of openings in both categories. Those openings were just Bell, Coryell, Lampasas and Milam Counties.

With so many positions that need to be filled, running night shifts for 24-hour service would be difficult. 

That's not the only problem though, he said.

"The other thing is we very much have supply chain issues. Even if we can get folks in the stores, many times you'll see empty shelves," Ayres said. 

Ayers said there is also a shortage of merchandise with imports being behind and a shortage of truck drivers to deliver it. That's left some stores restocking during the day instead of waiting for a night crew. 

"You'll see those guys stocking during the day because they just got the product and the shelf has been empty for two days," Ayres said. 

And while employees have been difficult to find, shoppers have not. Texans are still rushing to stores trying to get all their holiday items. Ayres said companies may need to rely more on automation technologies to catch back up with demand. 

"Our population has never slowed down. Even with the pandemic, Central Texas continues to see growth," Ayres said. 

Walmart on Salem Road is moving to a 24/7 schedule Nov. 23 after a successful 18 months in business.
Store Manager Ron Tillman said the move will be permanent and is based on growing business.

“A lot of shoppers have requested it,” Tillman said Friday. “Business is continually growing.”

The move to a 24/7 schedule will take place a week before Thanksgiving to allow shoppers additional time during the holiday season.

Other Walmart stores in the area (Covington and Conyers) are already 24/7 stores. The Salem Road store’s current hours are 6 a.m. to midnight, daily.

More than 250 people are employed in the 176,000-square-foot store, Tillman said.

Former county chairman Kathy Morgan said previously the rule of thumb for an established Walmart Supercenter — one that’s been open for three to five years — is that it will generate $1 million in revenue for each 1 percent of sales tax.

County Commissioner J.C. Henderson said at Tuesday’s meeting that the Board of Commissioners received considerable criticism in 2007 for approving Walmart’s plans to build a store at the intersection of Salem and Brown Bridge roads. However, he said the success justifies the move, noting the store provides jobs for hundreds of “regular folks” who may not be “Baxter (International) material” — referring to the $1 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing plant locating on the Newton/Walton county border.

Walmart purchased the 32.04-acre parcel for $1.67 million in April 2007, according to the Newton County Tax Assessor’s website. The Tax Assessor’s office values the land at $4 million and the building at $7.08 million, according to its website.

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, has no plans to return to its pre-pandemic hours.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Walmart Supercenters were typically open 24 hours per day. During the pandemic, the chain limited hours and now generally open at 6 a.m. and close at 11 p.m. The overnight closure allowed for extra cleaning and time to restock shelves amid shutdowns and fewer employees.

Now, despite changes in COVID protocols and numbers, Walmart said it has no plans to return to its pre-pandemic hours.

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“There are no plans at this time to return our Walmart stores to 24-hour per day operations,” Charles Crowson, director of Walmart Press Office Corporate Communications, told WSFA.

The retailer has returned some departments to regular hours. Starting in July, Walmart’s pharmacies and vision centers returned to regular operating hours of 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

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