Walmart de México y Centroamérica announced it will invest 43 billion pesos — roughly $2.4 billion — across Mexico and Central America in 2026, a 10% increase over the previous year, as part of an ambitious push to reach 99% of Mexican households within three years.

The announcement, made March 25 at the company’s annual Walmex Day investor event, outlined plans to open more than 1,500 new stores between 2025 and 2029, expand into 135 new cities across Latin America and attract more than 33 million new customers. The company currently reaches about 75% of Mexican households.

“The opening of 1,500 new stores through 2029 and the modernization of branches toward omnichannel models will be key to achieving this goal,” said CEO Cristian Barrientos Pozo at the event.

The investment is divided across four areas: 42% will go toward remodeling and maintaining existing stores, including omnichannel upgrades; 26% toward new store construction, with Bodega Aurrera serving as the primary vehicle for growth; 24% toward supply chain expansion and automation — including two new automated distribution centers planned for Guanajuato and Tlaxcala by 2027 — and 8% toward technology improvements.

New store openings are expected to contribute between 1.5% and 1.7% to total sales growth in 2026, according to the company’s official investment program filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Walmart is Latin America’s largest retailer and operates more than 2,900 stores in Mexico across four formats: Bodega Aurrera, Walmart Supercenter, Sam’s Club and Walmart Express.

Earlier this year, the company began recruiting software developers through Fortnite — marking what it described as the first time a Latin American employer had used the gaming platform for hiring — after relocating its IT hub from India to Mexico in 2025.

Mexico News Daily