Wal-Mart has revealed that the current economic climate means that it will not push its Marketside convenience grocery store concept over the four stores it currently operates in the Phoenix area.
The stores, which were launched in October 2008 on a trial basis, are seen as a rival to UK retailer Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighbourhood stores in the US.
However, the 1,400m2 outlets will not be added to in the immediate future, according to a report by Reuters.
'We're pleased with it (the format), but at this point in time given the current condition in the marketplace, with a significant reduction in demand...we are not accelerating that effort until we have better data to make a decision,' said Wal-Mart vice-chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright.