Walmart makes another move to win higher-income shoppers

For the last few months, Walmart has been working hard to change shoppers' perceptions.

The retailer spent decades establishing itself as a value destination, offering rock-bottom prices on everyday goods, but has recently put forth a concerted effort to appeal to higher-income earners.

It's a strategy that appears to be working. Executives have repeatedly highlighted growing market-share gains among households earning more than $100,000, and the retailer has drastically expanded its assortment of premium brands across fashion, beauty and home.

With its latest partnership, Walmart is signaling that its upmarket push is far from over.

Caraway launches in Walmart

On July 13, Walmart announced that it will be carrying Caraway kitchenware.

The cookware and kitchen essentials brand launched online in 2019. The Walmart partnership marks its largest retail expansion to date.

"From the beginning, our goal has been simple: make thoughtfully designed kitchen products available to as many people as possible," Jordan Nathan, founder and CEO of Caraway, said in a statement. "This is an exciting milestone for our brand and another step toward making better kitchen products more accessible."

Caraway products are set to launch in more than 500 locations, and will be available to approximately 50% of the U.S. population through same-day delivery, the announcement said.

The launch, which "reflects Walmart's continued focus on bringing more premium, design-forward brands to its customers," includes a curated selection of Caraway's non-toxic products, "bringing together elevated design, everyday performance, and the quality customers expect from Caraway."

Walmart has been attracting wealthier shoppers

Walmart's effort to attract higher-income shoppers has become one of the retailer's biggest growth strategies in recent years.

So far, the retailer's earnings indicate that the strategy is paying off.

At the close of the first quarter of 2027, Walmart reported that "market share gains were… led by upper-income households."

It's a trend that carried over from the fourth quarter of 2026, when CEO John Furner first told investors the company was seeing outsized growth in high-earning households.

"This quarter, the majority of our share gains came from households making more than $100,000," he said back in February.

That shift reflects a broader change in consumer spending. According to analysis by Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi, which was shared with Forbes, households in the top 20% of income now account for nearly 60% of all consumer spending, up from roughly half in the early 1990s.

In other words, a larger share of disposable income has become concentrated in the hands of a smaller percentage of shoppers.

For retailers like Walmart, then, this means winning higher-income shoppers has become increasingly important because they control such an outsized portion of spending power.

Throughout the years, Walmart's low-price reputation has helped attract wealthier shoppers looking to stretch their budgets on groceries and everyday essentials.

But as those customers become a larger part of its business, the retailer has also expanded its assortment of premium brands and higher-end merchandise to encourage them to spend across more categories-including home, beauty, apparel, and now cookware.

Walmart's premium strategy goes beyond cookware

Caraway is just the latest example of Walmart broadening its premium assortment.

In June, the retailer introduced an exclusive premium Angus beef line, aimed at shoppers seeking restaurant-quality products at home. And this spring, eagle-eyed shoppers reported seeing designer labels like Gucci and Dior popping up in the beauty aisle.

GlobalData Retail Analyst Neil Saunders recently wrote that Walmart is "growing customer numbers in grocery and marketplace, while also increasing share of wallet among higher-income shoppers through more aspirational ranges."

Adding Caraway to its home department suggests the retailer is expanding this approach across multiple categories, pairing its low-price reputation with more upscale brands and products.

As affluent households account for a growing share of consumer spending, that approach could help the retailer capture more of their wallets without abandoning the value-focused identity that established it as the country's largest retailer.

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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 11:33 AM.