What do Walmart closings say about the viability of pickup-only grocery stores?

Walmart is closing its two pickup- and delivery-only concept stores in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood and Bentonville, AR. Walmart opened the Lincolnwood store in 2019 on a former Dominick’s Finer Foods supermarket site. The store, at 41,700 square feet, was significantly larger than other pickup and delivery locations opened in recent years by the retailer in Bentonville and Metairie, LA. Customers at the Lincolnwood store placed grocery orders through Walmart’s website or mobile app and arrived at an assigned canopied bay in the parking lot at the specified time to pick up their purchases.