Just as a change in the weather signals summer’s approach, shopping carts begin to tell a story of anticipation the closer we get to the end of the school year.
Paper plates, hamburger buns, popsicles. Yard games and bug spray. Sundresses, sunscreen, and soccer balls. And, of course, the colors of the season: red, white, and blue. By the time July arrives, Americans are already deep into the rituals that define summer — backyard dinners that keep conversation flowing into the twilight, fireworks viewed from folding chairs, weekends on the water, baseball games, block parties, and last-minute gatherings that somehow come together perfectly anyway. This year, as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, Walmart and Sam’s Club saw an opportunity not to prescribe what celebration should look like, but to help customers make those moments feel easier and more connected to the people around them.
Teams across Walmart and Sam’s Club started preparing for the season more than a year ago, with weekly conversations spanning merchandising, marketing, communications, operations, public affairs, and philanthropy. The discussions didn’t seek to create one version of an “American summer.” Instead, leaders wanted to understand how to best meet customers’ priorities while also bringing surprise and delight to the intersection of exciting cultural moments and seasonal traditions. They found that customers are planning gatherings closer to home this year. They’re shopping earlier, thinking carefully about value, and looking for ways to make celebrations feel personal without becoming overwhelming. They still want the atmosphere — the decorated backyard, the themed desserts, the matching shirts someone insisted everyone wear — but they also want flexibility, convenience, and room for spontaneity.
“It’s important to us to create a curated assortment that sparks inspiration, and then make it as easy as possible to shop — whether customers want to shop in store, online, they need it in an hour, or they’re planning ahead,” details Melody Richard, SVP of Pantry at Walmart. “We want to be there for them everywhere they want to be, and we want them to feel our intentionality in serving them.”
Those priorities are visible from product assortment to delivery expansion. Walmart entered the summer with more than 7,000 active rollbacks, the most the company has offered in years, while continuing to expand express delivery, which can reach 60% of Americans within 30 minutes or less. At Sam’s Club, delivery in as soon as an hour is expanding as well to meet member needs for those gatherings that evolve in real time, whether that means adding an extra fruit tray before guests arrive or realizing halfway through the afternoon that they need more ice, drinks, or desserts. Across both brands, the goal is to remove friction so customers can stay focused on the celebration.
To Melody, merchandising is storytelling as much as inventory planning. During a recent walkthrough of the store, she stops repeatedly to point out details — packaging that carries a supplier’s story, products arranged together to inspire fresh ideas, and new flavors and collaborations born from hit social media or retail trends. She is delighted by an American flag aisle display made up of star-topped blue cakes alongside rows of red and white cupcakes, applauding the associates who designed it. Proud is a word she uses again and again for “how the story came together across stores and digital” as the result of thousands of merchants, suppliers, and associates working together to make the experience feel seamless rather than segmented into departments. “Like, I didn’t know I was going to do a birthday cake for July 4, but maybe now I am because, Walmart, you’ve sparked my inspiration in that space!” she says, seeing a box of America’s Birthday Cake-themed mix near traditional cookout fare. “I wanted customers to know how hard the merchants all worked together to tell that one story.”
Walmart’s Americana-inspired online shop and its “Meet the Makers” campaign are another way the company is extending that storytelling beyond the aisle. On the site, customers can browse stories about makers and U.S. entrepreneurs like Lisa Stelly of Fancy Sprinkles, veteran Ben Moore with The Ugly Co., and Samir Mehta from Smash Kitchen, whose better-for-you products are now in a dozen categories at accessible prices. The collection highlights suppliers whose products are helping shape the season, connecting customers with the people behind the items they bring home. It is another layer of context, one that turns a product into a person and a purchase into a story.
But the season is not only about what fills the cart. It’s also about the communities surrounding each store and club. Alongside the cookouts, décor, and summer traditions, the milestone year offers a natural opportunity to encourage associates to consider how they invest time in their communities. As a part of the 250th birthday celebration, organizers hope to make this the biggest year of service yet in the nation’s history, explains Erin Hogue, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for Walmart Giving. The retailer is a founding sponsor of America Gives, a nationwide volunteer initiative that is part of the America250 program, to inspire others to get more involved. The partnership made sense because giving back is already such a pronounced part of Walmart’s culture. This moment simply gives the company a larger platform to celebrate those efforts and invite even more associates to participate as it aims to make this year the largest year yet of volunteer hours for associates.
“All it takes is one associate who’s passionate about a cause or has a need for their family or community, and then the next thing you know, that whole store or club, that whole team wants to rally and get behind it,” Hogue says. Imagining that ripple effect in each of the 5,000 communities around the U.S. where Walmart and Sam’s Club operate offers a sense of the exponential change just one person can spark. “Our people are the difference.”
That momentum is amplified through the company’s Spark Good platform, where associates can discover local nonprofits, log volunteer hours, unlock matching grants, and connect with causes already active in their own communities. But the decisions themselves often stay local. Store and club leaders help determine which organizations, events, and celebrations matter most where they live, whether that means supporting a July 4 festival, a county fair, a school fundraiser, or a neighborhood nonprofit. “We want to empower associates to be the decision-makers for those store and club grants,” Hogue affirms. “They know what is most important in their community to sponsor or what the community celebration is that really connects people. We’re not saying, ‘Here’s all the ways every community should be celebrating.’ We’re saying, ‘Here are the tools available to help you celebrate locally relevant moments with your neighbors and customers.’”
At Sam’s Club, that idea is all about taking joyful moments to the next level. The retailer has gone all in on setting a playful tone for the season — members will find over-the-top inflatables hanging from the ceilings; fun hats, bracelets, and pins handed out by associates for a celebratory touchpoint in-club; and small touches like a free birthday cupcake for every visiting member on June 27. “People really do like to spend time with other people, and they like the things that make a physical environment unique; we’re noticing the importance of socialization and experiences through events,” offers Kirsten Evans, SVP of Member’s Mark at Sam’s Club. “Everyone is so busy these days, but they’re also always looking for something to do. It’s just fun!” Summer-themed demos and surprise samples add to that atmosphere, turning a routine club run into part of the occasion.
Underneath the playfulness, there is still a clear standard. Earlier this year, Sam’s Club completed a reformulation initiative removing more than 40 unwanted ingredients from all Member’s Mark food and beverage items*. This summer marks the first major seasonal rollout under those updated standards, including all bakery items. So, Evans notes, “when you see the cutout star cookies, or the red, white, and blue iced cupcakes, or our flag Chantilly cake, you can have the confidence that it fits our brand standard.” The result is a mix of festivity and reassurance, with a little room left for the unexpected.
“July is one of our biggest seasonal moments. Actually, the whole summer is such an exciting time in the stores and on the website,” Melody reveals. “We know that gatherings are so important to customers — everything’s about being together with family, friends, and in your community. So we’ve really focused on providing all of the things that customers need and providing the associates with inspiration and excitement to be able to showcase to our customers.” With the natural rhythms of summer lining up with such a special anniversary, and the U.S. hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, “this is a big summer of celebration.” And Walmart and Sam’s Club are ready.
When the holiday arrives, the people shaping these experiences will spend it much the same way as the customers they serve. Melody Richard is looking forward to being back at the lake, revealing, “I am the one who has all the hats; I light up the backyard for the fireworks at night. I decorate it to the nth degree!” And with expanded delivery and express delivery now reaching her lake house, Melody knows she can count on her closest Walmart to keep a forgotten ingredient from derailing the weekend. “I am really game-on; this is going to be a different summer!”
July 4 marks an additional anniversary on Erin Hogue’s calendar — it’s the weekend her family moved into their neighborhood just over seven years ago. Her three kids were with grandparents, while she and her husband unpacked. They had heard that the neighborhood hosted a legendary annual Fourth of July bash, so of course, had to check it out. “I met friends that I’m still very good friends with,” she shares. Now, it’s an annual tradition complete with a pool party, potluck, band, and fireworks at the neighborhood’s Fourth festivities. Kirsten Evans, likewise, is ready for the fun of the season. Catch her on Beaver Lake this Fourth of July, with her friend visiting from out of state, “eating ribs and wonderful sides from Member’s Mark, and hanging out on the lake in some of these big, crazy inflatables we’ve made!” She’ll be hard to miss — “you better believe I’ll be on the cowboy hat,” she promises.
Different backdrops, same summer instinct: Walmart and Sam’s Club are making it simpler than ever to prepare for get-togethers from the backyard to the lake to the beach and everywhere in between, and providing the fun and exciting assortment that will keep those celebrations going throughout the season.
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