Walmart Express is intended to be a two-pronged strategy: stores in small towns that aren't big enough to support a full-size Walmart, and stores in big cities where building a supercenter is impractical.
Wal-Mart is experimenting with a Walmart Express prototype for urban markets in Chicago, to open later this summer.
It plans to build 15 to 20 Walmart Express stores, focusing on Arkansas, North Carolina and Chicago, by the end of its fiscal year in January 2012.
"This is about access to breadth of assortment" and everyday low prices, said Anthony Hucker, vice president of strategy and business development, which is spearheading the new format.
If the retailer gets the prototypes right for both urban and rural areas, it sees the potential to build about 350 Express stores per year, the same pace as the height of its super center expansion in 2005 and 2006.
Walmart's U.S. business has been chipped away by dollar stores, which have adroitly maneuvered the post-recession economy.
Dollar stores, with their small size and convenient locations ideal for quick shopping, have added brand-name products and become more competitive on price. They're also expanding quickly, opening stores closer to customers' homes, an advantage in an era of high gas prices.
