Fewer people want to eat at Walmart.
Walmart Inc. and major restaurant chains such as McDonald’s Corp. had a mutually beneficial relationship for many years. The retailer provided a steady stream of dinner parties, and the eateries provided rental income and a reason for shoppers to stay in the store.
Those ties have deteriorated as more online shopping and fast food restaurants rely more on drive-through windows for sale, a feature Walmart locations don’t have. The pandemic has made indoor dining unattractive – or banned – for many customers, accelerating the split.
McDonald’s is closing hundreds of restaurants in the stores of the largest US retailer, the last vestiges of a roughly 30-year-old experiment between the companies. About 150 McDonald’s stores will remain in U.S. Walmart locations following another wave of planned closures expected to close this summer, the hamburger giant said. At the height of the partnership, there were approximately 1,000 McDonald’s restaurants in Walmart stores.
Franchisees at Subway, one of the largest fast food chains in the world with locations in Walmart stores, also say they are closing locations this year, citing the reduced foot traffic and lower profits.