What Walmart Looked Like In The '80s Vs Today

In the 1980s, there was Pac-Man, big hair, and Richard Simmons. Everyone was trying to solve the Rubik's Cube while listening to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on their Walkman. And Wal-Mart was the new K-Mart. With its first store opened in 1962 by Sam Walton, Wal-Mart had already grown to 276 stores, 21,000 workers, and $1 billion in sales by 1980. People were increasingly frequenting Wal-Mart stores in the '80s — likely after stopping at the nearest Blockbuster for a VHS movie or before getting dinner at the local steakhouse chain, Sizzler. But things at Wal-Mart were a little different back then.

It was an era when the Wal-Mart name was still hyphenated. The racks would have been filled with neon colors, shoulder pads, and acid-washed jeans, and the shelves stocked with Cabbage Patch Kids and Atari consoles. There was carpeting on the floor and an entire department devoted to vinyl records. According to social media, there were even arcade games in the stores, and almost everything was made in the U.S.A.

Most stores were much smaller than they are today, since the first supercenter didn't open until 1988. So you probably weren't shopping for groceries at Wal-Mart during most of the '80s. But then, like now, shoppers went there seeking low prices. And you'd receive a hearty welcome from a Wal-Mart associate as you arrived, since greeters were first added in the '80s.

In the early part of that decade, there were still old-fashioned cash registers at the checkout, but those began being replaced by computerized systems as early as 1983. Commenters on Facebook say that the wait to check out was shorter in those days, since staffers, clad in very '80s-looking uniforms, would just open up another register if too many customers lined up.

Walmart (without the hyphen) has come a long way since then. There are now nearly 11,000 stores across 19 different countries, with more than 2 million people working for the company. Everything nowadays is about quick service and convenience. Many of the check-out registers are self-service now, or you can order whatever you need from the Walmart website and have it brought out to your car in the parking lot or delivered directly to your home (sometimes in just 30 minutes) — features that clearly weren't available in the '80s. 

Appearance-wise, Walmart has become very bright and shiny these days: fluorescent lighting, polished white linoleum floors. Staff uniforms are also much more laid-back and casual today. So long as you wear the age-old blue vest, you can go crazy with any colored shirt underneath, including Hawaiian-printed shirts. Walmart stores have also gotten bigger since the '80s. They're now like city blocks of shopping — gargantuan warehouses of everything imaginable, spanning an average of 179,000 square feet for a full-size supercenter. The largest Walmart is in Albany, New York, covering 260,000 square feet on two floors — that's four times as big as the White House. 

And not only has the size increased, but so has the selection. Walmarts today offer a much more extensive and diverse array of products that aren't just made in America. Everything from frozen breakfast options to lawn mowers, liquid nitrogen tanks, and other assorted items from around the world can be bought in-store or online. Plus, Walmart has significantly branched out its services over the past 40 years. Today, after you finish your shopping, you can pick up a prescription, get fitted for eyeglasses, get your car tires replaced, or wire money to your cousin in Quebec.