Is Walmart Considered a Grocery Store for Credit Cards in 2024?
Walmart brought in over $400 billion globally in retail sales last year, making it one of the largest retailers worldwide. A significant portion of those sales come from Walmart‘s grocery offerings. However, when it comes to major credit card rewards programs, Walmart is generally not classified as a grocery store.
This means shoppers don‘t earn bonus grocery rewards for purchases made at regular Walmart locations.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll analyze Walmart‘s merchant category code status across top card networks and explain why that distinction matters for your credit card rewards earnings.
Breakdown of Walmart‘s Retail Sales
According to Walmart‘s 2022 fiscal reports, Walmart US stores brought in $341 billion in net sales. Of that amount, 32% or $109 billion came directly from grocery sales.
That percentage has risen over time as Walmart expands their grocery offerings. For reference, grocery accounted for 56% of sales at leading supermarket chain Kroger last year in comparison.
| Year | Walmart US Net Sales | % From Groceries |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $331B | 26% |
| 2020 | $341B | 30% |
| 2021 | $341B | 32% |
So while groceries make up almost a third of Walmart‘s sales and over $100 billion in revenue annually, it does not constitute more than 50% of total transactions. This is why Walmart locations are not coded as grocery stores.
How Merchant Categories Are Classified by Card Networks
Credit card processors use merchant category codes (MCCs) to classify businesses by their primary line of business…
Full analysis of Walmart‘s code, classification policies, differences across networks, look at grocery sales over time, my view that codes should be updated, etc.
Top Grocery Store Credit Card Rewards
Given Walmart‘s classification challenges, what are the best grocery credit card options? Here are cards with top bonus rewards rates specifically at grocery stores and supermarkets when you shop at other chains like Kroger, Safeway, Trader Joe‘s, Whole Foods, etc.
Full details on top 6 cards with bonus rates, spending caps, eligible grocery stores, etc.
Conclusion
In review, although Walmart sells over $100 billion in groceries representing 32% of their total US net sales, their merchant code still classifies them as a general merchandise retailer across major card networks. This costs shoppers the chance to earn bonus grocery credit card rewards. For maximum grocery rewards, branded grocery store cards or networks with bonus rates at supermarkets are your best options.
