Walmart is having trouble opening stores in New York – and is registering an increase in sales

In the past, Walmart’s attempts to open stores in the city have failed. The last attempt, in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, was stopped in 2012. Meanwhile, competitors such as Target and Costco operate large stores in the city, and Amazon owns warehouses and Whole Foods stores. Despite the lack of stores, traffic to Walmart.com in New York is growing at a double-digit rate every year. Last November saw a 44% jump in visits, faster than the rate of growth in the rest of New York State.

Walmart is known for low food prices, and it sells about one-fifth of all groceries in the US. In New York, its market share is still small, but it offers fast deliveries of fresh produce and staples to parts of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, through deliveries from stores on Long Island. Other areas, such as Manhattan and Staten Island, receive deliveries of dry goods through third-party companies.

Amazon still dominates e-commerce in New York, with much higher purchase volumes. On the streets of Manhattan you see couriers with Amazon boxes on almost every block. Walmart boxes are almost invisible. Still, there are signs of change: Walmart’s app has been opened 7.1% more in the New York area so far in 2025 than in the same period in 2024, while Amazon’s app has been opened 18% less.