Sprawl-Mart

Wal-Mart stores built by decade

This map shows the spread of Wal-Mart stores across the continental United States by decade from the 1960s to 2000s. The significance of this pattern of retail dispersion, as explained in a 2011 thesis degree, is that by locating stores in close proximity to one another and expanding locally and regionally, Wal-Mart on average, saves around $3,500 a year, per store, if they locate just one mile closer to a distribution center than by being one mile further away from a distribution center.

Over the past half century (1960 - 2010), the retail environment in the United States has undergone a dramatic shift away from traditional “mom and pop” stores and towards large scale “big-box” retailing. Target, K-Mart and Wal-Mart each opened their first discount store in 1962; Target located in a Minneapolis suburb, K-Mart in a Detroit suburb, and Wal-Mart in the small town of Rogers, Arkansas.

Over the next several decades, these retailers expanded strategically across the United States. Target and K-Mart grew quickly and located stores in major metropolitan areas. Wal-Mart chose to locate stores in smaller towns close to their home office of Bentonville, Arkansas.

Stores built per year

Stores by decade