One of the most popular retailers in the United States is Walmart.
With incredibly low prices and a practically limitless inventory, it’s the go-to destination for almost anything you need.
However, since it attracts so many different shoppers, it often runs out of stock on certain items.
One way to get ahead of the crowd is to know when Walmart restocks its shelves.
Here’s what you need to know about when Walmart restocks itself.
When Does Walmart Restock?
Walmart restocks its perishables every day.
Since they always try to sell fresh produce and food, they have to constantly receive new food to put out the next day.
General merchandise and other products restock throughout the day, but they’re not as consistent as perishables.
One of the differences between Walmart and other stores is that Walmart doesn’t hold its associates to a strict restocking schedule.
Instead, it expects all its associates to restock shelves whenever they can.
Because of this, most of the restocking happens between midnight and six in the morning when there are few customers and between noon and seven in the evening.
The best time to shop at Walmart is during the early morning hours when they first open.
When Does Walmart Restock Its Groceries?
Walmart restocks its groceries every day in the morning.
A truck arrives at every Walmart store with the day’s worth of perishables.
These perishables then go through a sorting process.
Once they’re ready to go on the shelves, the associates quickly put them out.
Frozen foods go first since they’re refrigerated and can last longer.
Fruits and vegetables tend to go out on the floor a little later to ensure they’re still fresh by the time the doors open to the public.
Walmart stores that are open 24/7 have their perishables put out as soon as there’s space.
Restocking groceries is a balancing act.
Not only does there need to be stock available, but it also needs to stay fresh.
If the associates put the food out too early, then there’s a chance that it’ll spoil or not look as appetizing later in the day.
However, since they receive a truck daily with food, you can always count on Walmart stocking their shelves during the late-night hours before the store opens.
If there’s a particular food item that you want, then showing up at the store when the doors open will increase your chances of being able to find it and buy it.
When Does Walmart Restock Its General Merchandise?
General merchandise refers to products like cookware, pet supplies, cleaning supplies, furniture, and other non-edible items.
They’re not as essential as something like food.
Because of that, Walmart doesn’t put as much intensity on getting their general merchandise restocked.
That said, they do stress that their associates need to keep stocking the store when they aren’t busy with customers.
Because of that, you can expect the general merchandise section of the store to restock between noon and seven in the afternoon.
Since the rush tends to happen in the early morning hours and right after work ends, around five in the afternoon, the associates have more time to stock shelves outside of those hours.
The best time to shop for general merchandise is in the morning.
Since some stores close during the overnight hours, and others see far less traffic during the graveyard shift, Walmart associates are able to stock efficiently.
They can bring out toys and larger products with far greater ease.
The availability of items to restock also depends on the frequency of the trucks that arrive at the store.
Trucks carry general merchandise less often than they do essential groceries.
That’s because general merchandise is often larger and heavier than produce.
It means they’re unable to carry as much which results in less profit on the trip.
To keep expenses down and revenue high, distributors and trucking companies only ship out general merchandise every few days.
For Walmart, their general merchandise trucks tend to show up three or four times a week.
It also depends on the distance between the Walmart store and the distributor.
If the distance is far, then Walmart will receive fewer shipments of general merchandise.
That means it takes longer for items to come back into stock.
Associates are unable to restock the shelves because there’s nothing in the inventory.
Those stores that are closer to distributors will see more frequent shipments because it doesn’t cost as much to travel there.
It’s helpful to find out where the local Walmart distributor is and determine its distance from your local Walmart store.
If it’s a short distance, then that store is an ideal choice for buying general merchandise.
If it’s a long distance, then you can expect delays and slow restocking times on certain items.
In most cases, however, the best time to shop at Walmart for general merchandise is early in the morning when the store first opens.
When Does Walmart Restock Electronics?
Many customers love to buy electronics from Walmart because of their great prices.
While they often have a lot of hot-ticket items for sale, it’s also just as common for them to be out of stock.
Knowing when Walmart restocks its electronics can help you get an edge over the competition.
The bad news is that it isn’t always easy to determine when Walmart restocks its electronics because its associates do so throughout the day.
The electronics area is extremely busy only during certain times of the year.
When manufacturers release new models or when game engineers release new gaming consoles are some examples.
When the holidays hit and prices on these coveted items decreases, there’s a mad rush to buy them.
During the rest of the year, however, the electronics department is mostly slow.
That allows the associates stationed in the area lots of time to restock the shelves.
This is especially true during the graveyard shift and between noon and seven in the evening.
During the holidays, the electronics section is busy.
This gives the associates less time to stock the shelves during store hours.
They’re only able to stock the shelves during the graveyard shift.
The frequency of trucks also impacts how often Walmart restocks its electronics.
Like general merchandise, electronics aren’t shipped as often.
Larger electronics, especially, are more expensive to ship.
Distributors don’t send them out as much as a result.
Even during the holidays, when these items are in high demand, distributors will increase the frequency of their shipments, but it won’t be as often as essential items.
The further a store is from a distributor, the less often they receive shipments of electronics, too.
Smaller electronics tend to arrive more often than larger electronics.
Since they’re not as heavy or large, carriers can fit more items in the truck.
This ensures that each truckload is profitable.
That’s why it’s easier to find items like batteries in stock but not as easy to find gaming consoles or large TVs.
If you want to get ahead of the crowd to shop for electronics, then you’ll want to arrive at the store early in the morning.
This is especially true during the holidays when the graveyard shift is the only time the associates can stock the shelves.
During the rest of the year, however, you can find restocked shelves in the later afternoon and when the store first opens.
When Does Walmart Restock Its Pharmacy?
Whether you have prescriptions to fill or you need to stock up on Band-Aids, you may wonder when Walmart stocks its health and pharmacy area.
That frequency depends on the store and its distance from suppliers.
Since many health products tend to be essential, they often receive a daily supply of them.
These products are necessary to keep people alive or to improve their life.
Because of that, Walmart tries to always keep them in stock.
Medications, however, can take a bit longer.
That’s because the process of ordering and shipping them is done on an individual basis.
The customer first has to have their doctor give them a prescription and get the medication at the Walmart pharmacy.
If the pharmacy doesn’t already have that specific medication on hand, then they need to order it from a supplier.
The supplier then ships it to the store.
The good news is that as long as that customer continues to use Walmart’s pharmacy, the store will expect regular shipments of the specific medication.
There will be less of a wait in the future.
Once they have the drug, they can then fill that prescription based on the doctor’s order.
That means they fill a bottle with the correct quantity of pills or the substance that the customer needs at the correct strength as prescribed by the doctor.
It can take anywhere from a week to a week in a half for a new drug to arrive at a Walmart.
If you’re an established customer at their pharmacy, then it will only take a few days for them to fill your prescription.
When shopping at Walmart for their health products or prescriptions, you can expect them to restock the products daily.
Prescriptions are ordered on an individual basis.
When Does Walmart Restock Its Online Store?
If you prefer to shop on Walmart’s online store, then you may want to know when they restock certain items.
Because Walmart online bases its inventory on the nearest warehouse, distributor, and store, it’s difficult for them to give an exact date as to when an item will be back in stock.
Hot-ticket items, especially, can take longer to arrive depending on their size and weight.
The general consensus seems to be that it takes Walmart’s online store a week or two to restock its inventory.
That number depends on the demand for the product and the distributor’s distance from your home.
Hot ticket items sell fast, so even when Walmart does have an item back in stock, there’s a chance that others are waiting for the item who bought it before you did.
Luckily, you can tell Walmart to notify you when an item is back in stock.
When a product is out of stuck on their website, you’ll see an option to have Walmart send you a notification that it’s back in stock.
Opting for this notification will allow you to know the moment the item is back in stock.
That allows you to immediately get online and buy it from the store.
The notification system is the consumer’s best way to get ahead of other shoppers.
Why Does Walmart Restock Its Produce Throughout the Day?
When shopping at Walmart, you may notice some associates stocking the produce shelves even though they’re hardly empty.
You may wonder why they’re doing this instead of stocking empty shelves.
Walmart does this for a couple of reasons.
The first is that they’re committed to selling fresh produce.
They will replace the produce the moment that some fruit or vegetables start to lose their freshness.
In this way, their customers never have to worry about buying spoiled or old produce.
The second reason is that they have a lot of produce in stock.
Most of it is sitting in fridges or cooled areas and waiting to be put on the shelves.
Associates need to empty those storage areas to prepare for the delivery for the next day.
To do so, they’ll put the items out in the store’s produce section in the hopes of customers buying them and emptying their inventory.
Finally, they do so because produce and food are essential items.
Customers need to feed themselves and their families.
They can’t do that if there isn’t any food on the shelves.
To ensure everyone can buy the food that they need, Walmart associates regularly restock produce and other food items.
How To Check Walmart’s Inventory
Driving to Walmart to buy a specific item only to find that it isn’t in stock can be annoying.
It’s a waste of gas and time.
The good news is that Walmart has a way for you to check whether an item is in stock or not without ever needing to leave your home.
It’s on their Walmart app.
After downloading their app and creating an account, you can take a look at the various items for sale at your local Walmart.
You’ll need to set your home store to the one that you typically shop at.
Then you’ll see all the items for sale at that specific store.
It will also tell you whether an item is in stock or not.
Like their online store, you can tell Walmart to send you a notification when the item comes back into stock.
To make shopping for the item even easier, Walmart will also tell you the item’s location in the store.
You’ll see the aisle number and often a map of the store, so you can immediately head there as soon as you arrive.
Thanks to Walmart’s mobile app, you no longer have to waste your time driving to the store only to find the item that you want is out of stock.
Do All Walmart Stores Carry The Same Stock?
Another problem you run into when trying to determine Walmart’s stock is whether the store even carries the item.
You may have gone shopping at a Walmart in a different state once and noticed that they have slightly different items than your home store.
You may want to buy these items, too.
Not every store has the same stock.
Some stores carry regional items that others don’t.
That might be certain wine vintages, beers, and even clothes.
Many Walmart stores carry team jerseys specific to their location, for example.
Others may carry sunscreen year-round instead of only in the summer if they’re located in the desert or in arid climates that don’t see harsh winters.
Smaller Walmart stores may also not have access to some of the brands that a larger Walmart might have had.
Because they don’t have as large of a budget, they may need to keep to certain essentials that they know their customers want.
It’s important to understand what your Walmart does and doesn’t carry based on its location.
You may think an item is out of stock, but in reality, Walmart never sold the item at that specific location in the first place.
Conclusion
Walmart restocks its shelves throughout the day.
They don’t use a restocking schedule like many other retailers.
Their primary focus is always on their perishables because they want to provide fresh food to their customers.
General merchandise and electronics take longer to restock, but they’re restocked throughout the day, too, if the associates aren’t busy helping customers.
You can use Walmart’s mobile app to stay informed about the state of an item’s availability.
