Christmas may not be out of the way yet, but Walmart has already made one New Year’s resolution.

The retail Goliath has changed its legal name and from February will no longer be called Walmart Stores but simply Walmart.

It’s a sign of how the industry is changing and was done, according to Walmart chief executive Doug McMillon, “to reflect how customers want to shop”.

“Unlike a couch potato resolving to go running every day – definitely, really meaning it this New Year – Walmart has already made major changes to its business as it adapts to new retail realities”

But unlike a couch potato resolving to go running every day – definitely, really meaning it this New Year – Walmart has already made major changes to its business as it adapts to new retail realities.

McMillon was careful to say that Walmart will “continue to invest in and strengthen our stores”, but there is a “growing emphasis on serving customers seamlessly”.

The $3bn acquisition of Jet.com in 2016 was a seminal moment for Walmart, symbolising its determination to remain as big a force in retail today and tomorrow as it has been in the past.

The deal brought with it Jet co-founder Marc Lore, now chief executive of Walmart eCommerce US, who has led a raft of digital initiatives such as a voice shopping deal with Google Home and the purchase of online-to-offline fashion specialist Bonobos.

As McMillon acknowledged, Walmart’s legal name is only used in limited circumstances.

However, apart from anything else, it is likely to further change the mindset among the retailer’s 2.3 million staff globally.

The ongoing structural shift is just as starkly evident in UK retail as it is in the US. Black Friday sales were driven by online. And when last weekend’s snow hit store footfall, no doubt shopping continued from the comfort of the couch.

Retailers are likely to face tough trading in 2018. Carpetright’s lacklustre interims this week may be a sign of things to come.

In such conditions retailers more than ever must to be where the shoppers are – whether online, offline or, increasingly, somewhere in between.

Retail’s property shift

Retail property giant Hammerson’s acquisition of counterpart Intu and the proposed sale of shopping centre group Westfield to French property company Unibail-Rodamco each have their own deal logic but tell a bigger retail story.

“But a select group of shopping centres are increasingly emerging as the top destinations”

Shopping centre footfall was down 2% year on year last week according to data specialist Springboard – and that direction of travel has been a bit of a trend.

But a select group of shopping centres are increasingly emerging as the top destinations. That may not mean the death of the rest, but it creates greater competition among retailers to have a presence in particular locations.

While retailers may appreciate the efforts of property owners to enhance the draw of so-called ‘supermalls’ by carefully curating the mix, adding leisure appeal and using technology to enhance multichannel opportunity, they will also feel nervous that property power is in the hands of fewer companies, leaving them with less room to negotiate on terms.

As they continue to review their estates, work out how many stores they need and ensure branch profitability, any sign of less flexibility from shopping centre owners would be one more property headache.