Montana Shoppers Might Soon See Walmart 2.0

Walmart just announced its very first “Store of the Future” down in Cypress, Texas. Yes, it’s just as absurd and high-tech as you imagine. We're talking digital shelf tags, QR codes everywhere, robots restocking the shelves, a machine that cranks out fresh tortillas while you shop... Oh, and there are no cashiers or registers in sight. There's also a full sushi station. At Walmart. In Texas. What a time to be alive.

They’re trying to make the case that this is shopping for the next generation. Me? I’m just thinking about what would happen if they dropped one of these in a Montana town. I will give it 12 hours before someone tries to scan a deer tag into the tortilla press.

More than 150 locations will be totally reimagined as these future-focused stores over the next five years, with over 650 stores remodeled across 47 states. So yeah, there’s a good chance places such as Missoula or Billings (or even Butte) will get the upgrade.

Sure, there will be grumbling by some people. You know the type: still pulling out a checkbook to pay, still complaining that self-checkout is “a scam.” But once those fresh tortillas waft through the air, or they snag some sushi when they are buying the engine oil and doing their taxes... They’ll come around.

Montana may not be among the first in line, but change is on the way. And if that means avoiding checkout lines, talking to a robot, and maybe a beer fridge that talks back? I say more power to it. Just don’t go getting rid of that hunting aisle, and we’ll be fine.