Amazon’s rapid‑delivery push has turned Walmart’s sprawling supercenters into bottlenecks. To keep pace, the retailer is converting former pharmacies, thrift stores and other small sites into Walmart Depots—20,000‑sq‑ft satellite stockrooms that gig workers use for hour‑or‑less deliveries. The first depot opened in Carlstadt, New Jersey, a mile from Manhattan serving customers nearby store centers daily.

Each depot stocks only high‑turnover household items and sits under the oversight of a nearby Supercenter manager. Drivers, accessed through Walmart’s Spark app, pull orders in five minutes versus 25 minutes inside a full‑size store, according to an employee. The model promises deliveries in as little as 30 minutes in dense markets across the nation today.

Walmart’s push follows Amazon’s 40‑fold jump in perishable sales after adding same‑day delivery, and the launch of 30‑minute grocery drops in dozens of U.S. cities. The company files call the depots a “pilot,” seeking five‑year leases to test viability. If successful, the strategy could reshape last‑mile logistics in suburban malls for retail customers today.

Local zoning boards face resistance, with residents in Poughkeepsie questioning whether a former Rite Aid should become a logistics hub. Brokers, see empty drugstore sites as an opportunity; a San Diego depot would replace a closed Rite Aid, and a Fayetteville location sits beside a Supercenter. The rollout hinges on approval and lease terms for customers today.