• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 18, 2010

While Target is continuing its roll-out of the $1 billion P-fresh format—announcing make-overs of 114 stores in Chicago, Dallas and Washington D.C.—industry execs continue to mull over just how big the small-format trend may be. Last week, Walmart told investors that it, too, would intensify the opening of smaller stores.

Target, which announced its P-fresh format early in the year, has been reconfiguring its smaller stores to include an open-market grocery layout, stocked with a selection of fresh produce, fresh meat and baked goods. It offers 90% of the categories found in a SuperTarget, albeit with much less selection. "Perishables has been the one area where Target has struggled most," Jon Hauptman, a partner with Willard Bishop, a retail consultant in Barrington, Ill., tells Marketing Daily, "so it will be very interesting to see how they do. The success of their food offering will be based on how well they adjust their perishables."

The remodels include other changes, too, including softer lighting and curved fixtures in the beauty department, with interactive screens to help guests make personalized selections. Aisles have been widened in the home department, and electronics have also gotten an interactivity update, allowing guests to try more games.