Walmart Just Cut the Cart Capacity for Its Online Order Filling Associates by 25 Percent

Walmart issued new instructions this week for the carts its Online Order Filling associates use inside stores, according to a memo obtained by Business Insider. The latest guidance caps the blue bins on each cart at six, down from a previous maximum of eight, to improve associate visibility while moving through aisles. It also tells associates to push the carts when they can see clearly ahead and to pull them when sightlines are blocked.

The memo is a partial reversal of a policy issued days earlier that had told associates to pull the carts rather than push them. Business Insider reported that policy was criticized on Reddit pages and Facebook groups used by Walmart workers, who said the carts hit their heels when pulled. Business Insider reported that the new memo frames the update as a safety improvement for associates and customers.

The safety record behind the change is documented, not theoretical

A Walmart spokesperson, citing a quiet period ahead of the company’s May 21 quarterly earnings report, declined to comment on the policy beyond saying that employee and customer safety is a top priority and that the company adjusts policies where needed. Walmart has faced multiple lawsuits over the years from customers who say they were struck by employee-pushed carts. WSB-TV reported in June 2024 that a Forsyth County, Georgia jury awarded Tammy Callihan a $1.2 million verdict after a Walmart employee struck her with a shopping cart in a 2020 incident, with Callihan suffering neck and back injuries that aggravated a prior disc herniation and required spinal surgery. According to WSB-TV, attorneys for Callihan had declined a $350,000 settlement offer from Walmart before the verdict.

The cart change lands inside the channel driving Walmart’s comp growth

Walmart’s stores have become a primary engine of its online order fulfillment. CFO John David Rainey told investors on the fiscal Q4 2026 earnings call, as reported by Digital Commerce 360, that store proximity to customers is what makes Walmart’s accelerating digital fulfillment work. Walmart’s own April 16 corporate post said the company can now reach 95 percent of U.S. households with delivery in three hours or less, an advantage it attributed to store proximity. The Q4 FY26 earnings release reported U.S. e-commerce growth of 27 percent year over year, the 15th straight quarter of double-digit digital gains, with 35 percent of store-fulfilled orders delivered in under three hours. Retail Dive, citing Walmart’s 10-K filing for fiscal 2026, reported that U.S. e-commerce contributed 4.3 percent to the company’s comparable sales for the year, up from 2.9 percent the year before, with growth driven primarily by store-fulfilled pickup and delivery.

A 25 percent cut in cart capacity, all else equal, means more pick runs to fulfill the same order volume. Business Insider noted as much in its reporting. Walmart has not stated publicly what offsetting changes, if any, it expects in pick rates, labor allocation, or technology assists, and the quiet period limits comment until May 21.

The May 21 earnings call is where any operational offset would surface

The May 21 earnings call is the next public moment Walmart can speak to how its store-level operating model is absorbing the e-commerce growth driving its results. For 1P suppliers running heavy through store-fulfilled pickup and delivery, that call is where any signal on pick-rate offsets, labor adjustments, or technology assists would land.

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