Wal-Mart in Myrtle Beach to start closing at midnight

Shoppers accustomed to late night hours at the Myrtle Beach Wal-Mart Supercenter on Seaboard Street will have to shift their routines beginning Sunday when the store starts locking its doors at midnight.

Local co-manager Devin Parham referred questions about the shift from 24-hour shopping to Wal-Mart corporate spokesman Brian Nick. Nick said the change in hours simply reflects an operations decision at the corporate level. Starting Sunday, store hours will be 6 a.m. to midnight.

“In this case, we reviewed customer shopping patterns and determined the few hours the store will not be open to customers will allow us to reallocate resources to ensure our store is in the best shape during peak shopping hours,” Nick said.

In response to why the decision was made during the peak of the summer tourist season, Nick said it is a business decision occurring at different stores across the country. No other stores in the immediate area of the Grand Strand is affected at this time, but Nick said a store in Summerville near Charleston also would start closing at midnight.

“The overall goal is to reallocate resources to make sure the store is in the best shape when customers visit the most frequently,” Nick said. “It’s a matter of having a few hours closed to customers that allows associates to focus resources to have the store ready bright and early in the morning.”

Marshall Horne, who said he lives on the north end of the Grand Strand, said if the store in his area changed its night shopping hours, it would definitely affect his ability to shop there.

Horne said he was shopping at the Seaboard Street location Wednesday afternoon because he had other business in the area, but he typically does his Wal-Mart shopping after 11 p.m.

“Closing the store at midnight would definitely affect me especially in the summer because I go to Wal-Mart late at night to avoid all the tourists,” he said. “You’re not going to see many busy locals shopping at 3 p.m.”

While Horne questioned whether crime in the area of the Myrtle Beach store might have been a factor in the decision to close at midnight, Nick said, “The stores in general are closing because of reasons we discussed and not other reasons.”

Nick also said taking care of associates that might be affected by the change is Wal-Mart’s “No. 1 goal.”

“We will reposition them in the store or in a different role that allows them to continue in their overnight position or allow them to transfer to daytime. If that is not possible, we will try to transfer them to a nearby store,” he said.

This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Wal-Mart in Myrtle Beach to start closing at midnight."