A major leadership transition is underway at Walmart, with CEO Doug McMillon set to retire on Jan. 31, 2026, after more than 40 years at the company. As he wraps up nearly 12 years as CEO, the retailer he leaves behind looks very different from the one he inherited.
McMillon joined FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria” to discuss how inflation is reshaping consumer behavior and Walmart’s customer base. Higher-income households are increasingly turning to the nation’s largest retailer in search of value, a shift he attributed to years of investment beyond its traditional price-focused image.
That evolution has been fueled by Walmart’s move toward a multi-platform retail model. The company has tightly integrated physical stores with e-commerce, curbside pickup and delivery, giving shoppers greater flexibility while expanding assortment and strengthening categories such as fashion and other discretionary goods that have drawn increased interest from higher-income consumers.
McMillon said those changes have altered how higher-income customers interact with the brand.
“What we’ve seen is… over the years, people with more money have kind of cherry-picked Walmart,” he said.
He noted that those shoppers once limited their purchases to basics like groceries or household items.
“With the combination of changes that we’ve made with our merchandise and the convenience of e-commerce, we’ve been able to serve people at all income levels more effectively,” McMillon said.
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Convenience has become nearly as important as price. McMillon said internal surveys show Walmart is now rated almost as highly for convenience as for affordability, reflecting years of investment in fulfillment, automation and technology.
“The more convenient aspects of Walmart have shown up for those that have higher income levels… in some of the surveys we’ve seen in more recent times, we get rated almost as highly for convenience as we do for price… that was a new development for us,” McMillon said.
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