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Fact check: How many stores will Walmart close in 2025?
Executive Summary
Walmart has not announced a company-wide plan to close a specific number of stores in 2025; claims that Walmart will shutter stores broadly because of a government shutdown or SNAP benefit interruptions are false and contradicted by company statements. Local and company-initiated closures have occurred — including an unexpected store shutdown in Federal Way and a wave of 11 closures in 2024 — but there is no authoritative count of nationwide 2025 closures from Walmart itself [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. Viral Claims and Immediate Denials: Why the “Walmart will close” Story Spread Quickly
Social posts on platforms such as TikTok circulated claims that Walmart would close stores in November 2025 as a direct consequence of a federal government shutdown and a freeze in SNAP benefits. Those claims were fact-checked and explicitly denied by Walmart spokespeople, who stated that stores would remain open for business as usual, undermining the viral narrative tying widespread closures to temporary federal funding lapses [1] [2] [5]. The rapid spread relied on conflating local developments with a national policy event, while company press responses operated to correct public confusion. Reporting also highlighted the potential economic sensitivity of retail chains to SNAP program disruptions, which helped the story feel plausible even when it lacked factual support from Walmart’s corporate communications [6].
2. Local Closures vs. National Strategy: What the Evidence Actually Shows
Walmart has carried out discrete, location-specific actions: the company closed an individual store in Federal Way, Washington, impacting roughly 250 employees, and previously closed 11 stores in 2024, primarily in California [3] [4]. Those events are documented and represent localized operational decisions, not a declaration of a sweeping 2025 closure plan. Media summaries note Walmart is simultaneously investing in other formats — expanding gas-and-convenience centers and opening new Neighborhood Market locations — which indicates a strategy of selective reconfiguration rather than mass retail exits [4]. The observable pattern is one of targeted adjustments, not a uniform shutdown program.
3. Financial Pressure from SNAP Freezes: Real Risk, Not a Mandate to Close Stores
Analysts and reporting have quantified the potential economic impact if SNAP benefit distributions were interrupted, with one estimation of up to a $2 billion sales hit for Walmart as SNAP-dependent transactions fall [6]. That figure illustrates real financial vulnerability tied to consumer assistance programs but does not equate to an operational decision to close stores. The $2 billion projection was used to contextualize how a benefits freeze could reduce revenue, yet news coverage makes clear that projections of lost sales are distinct from corporate announcements about store closures, and Walmart’s public position remains that its stores would remain open despite government funding disruptions [6] [1].
4. Contradictions and Missing Data: What Walmart Has and Hasn’t Said
Walmart spokespeople have publicly denied that a government shutdown would prompt store closures and have confirmed continuity of operations on specific dates mentioned in viral posts, creating a clear contradiction between social-media claims and corporate statements [1] [2] [5]. At the same time, Walmart has not published a consolidated, forward-looking list of every store it will close during 2025; only sporadic, local announcements and historical counts (such as eleven closures in 2024) are available [3] [4]. The absence of a single authoritative, comprehensive closure list for 2025 leaves open the possibility of further localized actions, but no evidence supports a predetermined nationwide closure count for the year.
5. What To Watch and How to Interpret New Reports
Future reporting should distinguish between (a) verified corporate announcements about specific store closures, (b) localized operational changes that affect a small number of sites, and (c) speculative claims tying macroeconomic shocks to mass closures without direct corporate confirmation. If Walmart issues a formal, dated release announcing a planned number of 2025 closures, that would constitute conclusive evidence; until then, rely on documented local closures and company denials of mass shutdowns as the factual baseline. The current record shows targeted closures and expansion efforts rather than a company-wide closure program tied to the 2025 government shutdown or SNAP benefit issues [3] [4] [1] [2] [5] [6].