NEW YORK — As Wal-Mart prepares for its annual shareholder meeting Friday, several large retailers are emulating the king of one-stop shopping and offering more necessities.
The stores are trying to keep registers humming, as Wal- Mart has, amid a recession that has pushed consumers to cut back to essentials — food, cleaning products and other consumables.
Target, known for cheap chic clothing and home accessories, is adding fresh food and relaunching an in-store line of home and personal-care products. Toys R Us, which has long carried baby formula and diapers, is rolling out a new section in 260 of its almost 600 stores with more consumables, such as paper towels, hand soap and detergent.
Family Dollar Stores has been rapidly expanding its once-limited food assortment and adding brands such as Jif peanut butter from J.M. Smucker and Triscuits from Kraft’s Nabisco as it strives to pull in more shoppers.
