Affluent Shoppers Lift Walmart in a Challenging Economy

<img decoding="async" class="lazyload size-full-width wp-image-1601443" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/11/GettyImages-2157161508.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="Man in beige blazer stands outside holding microphone " width="970" height="647" data-caption='Doug McMillon will step down as Walmart’s CEO next year. <span class=”lazyload media-credit”>Photo by Derek White/Getty Images for Bentonville Film Festival</span>’>

Walmart has long been beloved for its discounts and budget-friendly prices. These days, however, America’s largest retailer is attracting a surprising new group of shoppers: affluent households.

Inflation pressures and more flexible shopping options have pushed wealthier customers toward Walmart. “We continue to benefit from higher-income families choosing to shop with us more often,” CEO Doug McMillon said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call today (Nov. 20).

Walmart’s shares jumped more than 6 percent after the retailer beat expectations on both sales and profit for the August–October period. Revenue rose 5.8 percent year-over-year to nearly $180 billion, U.S. same-store sales increased 4.5 percent, and net income climbed 34 percent to $6.1 billion.

Often seen as a bellwether for consumer sentiment and broader trends like pricing pressures and labor conditions, Walmart suggested that customers are still spending, though mostly in essential categories. Amid a strained economy, groceries and health and wellness are outperforming general merchandise. “As pocketbooks have been stretched, you’re seeing more consumer dollars go to necessities versus discretionary items,” John Rainey, Walmart’s chief financial officer, told analysts.

While Walmart noted strength across all income groups, recent growth in the U.S. has been driven especially by upper- and middle-income households. Lower-income families, meanwhile, have “been under additional pressure of late,” according to McMillon.

The company also cited the recent government shutdown’s pause in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or SNAP, as a factor affecting lower-income shoppers. Walmart said it is watching the widening wage gap between income cohorts. About 29 percent of lower-income U.S. households are now living paycheck to paycheck, according to recent data from the Bank of America Institute, which also found that higher-income households have experienced faster wage growth—what some economists have labeled a “K-shaped economy.” Despite these pressures, Rainey said Walmart’s value proposition leaves it “better insulated than just about anybody.”

Customers across income levels, especially higher earners, have been drawn to Walmart’s increasingly convenient services, from broader inventory to faster deliveries. More than one-third of Walmart U.S. store-fulfilled orders last quarter were delivered in under three hours, with sales through these expedited channels rising nearly 70 percent.

Fast delivery is a key piece of Walmart’s broader e-commerce strategy, which helped drive a 27 percent jump in global online sales. The company has steadily expanded its digital footprint in recent years to compete more directly with Amazon. Signaling its growing tech focus, Walmart announced today that it will move its listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq next month.

Walmart’s e-commerce transformation is often credited to McMillon, who is entering his final quarter as CEO after more than a decade in the role. He will be succeeded in February by John Furner, a longtime Walmart executive.