Walmart Is Making Big Changes for Holiday Shoppers, but One Thanksgiving Tradition Is Staying
A Walmart order placed in the app can now be waiting at the curb within an hour. Shelves can blink to point you toward the item you want. Drones are carrying groceries to homes in a growing list of cities. Walmart laid out all of it on Oct. 7, framing the season around saving shoppers time. Yet one promise buried in the announcement sounds identical to last year’s, and millions of families will care about it more than any gadget.
Walmart’s New Express Pickup Puts Orders at the Curb in as Little as One Hour
Express Pickup leads the list. Customers order in the Walmart app and drive up once it’s ready, as soon as an hour later. The option is live at 500 stores and will reach the rest of the country in the coming weeks, in time for Thanksgiving grocery runs. Walmart+ members pay no fee, while other shoppers will see any local charge at checkout. An hour looks leisurely next to other speeds Walmart is advertising.
Walmart Lays Out Five Delivery Speeds for Holiday Emergencies, Starting With Drone Drops in Minutes
Walmart built its lineup around a familiar holiday problem. Its 2026 Scintilla Holiday Survey found 42% of shoppers expect to host or attend three to four gatherings this season, which invites forgotten ingredients and last-minute gifts. The answer is a ladder of delivery choices: drones, 30 minutes or less, one-hour Express, three-hour On-Demand, and scheduled orders. The rung at the very top of that ladder involves no driver and no road at all.
Walmart Plans 270 Drone Delivery Locations by 2027 as Wing Heads to Seattle and Denver
Walmart is racing to expand drone delivery. In January, the retailer said 150 more stores would gain the service this year, building toward 270 locations in 2027. Its partner Wing, owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, has launched in Houston and Orlando, and Seattle and Denver are next in line for 30-minute drone delivery. Drones are the flashiest change outside the store. Inside the aisles, a quieter upgrade is waiting, and it involves a blinking light.
Walmart’s Shop to Light Makes a Shelf Label Flash When You Reach the Right Item
Anyone who has hunted for one specific spice jar knows the problem Shop to Light is built to solve. A shopper searches for an item in the Walmart app, and once in the right section, a small LED on the shelf label flashes to mark the spot. It runs on digital shelf labels that Walmart said in March it would install chainwide within a year. Those labels have raised concerns across retail, and Walmart chose to answer them directly.
Walmart Says Shelf Labels Follow Central Pricing, With Changes Made Outside Shopping Hours
The worry is simple: could a screen on the shelf change what you pay? Walmart says prices are set centrally under its Every Day Low Price approach, with approved changes typically made outside shopping hours. The labels display prices without determining them, and Shop to Light has no effect on what an item costs. The same LEDs also help employees stock shelves and fill online orders. Another new service this season has nothing to do with speed or lights.
Walmart Adds American Sign Language Interpreters at Service Desks Through Sorenson
Walmart is introducing American Sign Language interpreting in its U.S. stores through a company called Sorenson. Shoppers scan a QR code at a service desk to connect with an interpreter. The service joins sensory-friendly hours and Caroline’s Carts, which Walmart presents as ways to make a store visit more comfortable. Then the announcement shifts to a section about holiday traditions shoppers can still count on, and the first one on the list involves charity.
Walmart Customers Can Round Up Online Orders for Operation Homefront in November
Through a program called A Season to Spark Good, customers can take part in The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree and Red Kettle campaigns. Online shoppers can round up purchases to support Operation Homefront in November, then switch to The Salvation Army in December. One more tradition on the list reaches far more households than any charity drive, and it decides whether a Walmart parking lot is full or empty on Nov. 26.
Walmart Will Close All Stores on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day Again This Year
Walmart will keep its stores closed nationwide on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, and again on Christmas Day, Friday, Dec. 25. The company says the closures exist “so our associates can enjoy the holidays with their loved ones.” It marks the seventh straight year Walmart has skipped Thanksgiving. Shoppers who remember a different Thanksgiving may be surprised how recent this routine really is.
Walmart’s Thanksgiving Closure Dates to 2020, Ending a Run of Holiday Openings Since the Late 1980s
According to NewsNation, Walmart told USA Today in 2020 that its stores had stayed open on Thanksgiving since the late 1980s, with Christmas the only holiday when doors closed. The 2020 decision ended that streak, and the closure has returned every year since. For 2026, the company pairs a wave of speed-focused tools with a shuttered Thanksgiving, and both are now fixtures of its holiday plan.