The Gloucester Walmart celebrated a “grand reopening” Friday, as store manager Rick Helton and his team of 385 employees debuted numerous changes to the store that he said will improve the shopping experience.

Among the changes are new floors, an expanded women’s clothing section, higher quality clothing, new seasonal aisles and, most notably, a fully-automated bright orange tower containing merchandise orders for pickup for online or mobile shoppers.

“What I like about them,” Helton said of the new polished concrete floors, “is that before, when we had tile floors, we had to put wax on them. That’s a hazardous chemical, all that goes down the drain basically. Now with the new floor … we only need water to clean this.” With wax and chemical stripper no longer necessary for floor cleaning, Helton said he felt better about water quality knowing this runoff was being reduced.

In terms of sheer square footage, the biggest change is the apparel department. “We expanded the ladies’ department all the way across the front of the store,” Helton said. “We wanted to put ladies first.” Additionally, the store added new, larger fitting rooms that Helton said will increase customer comfort while trying on clothes. “And a lot of our clothing is now higher quality than it was in the past,” he added.

Additionally, an expanded seasonal area, currently set up with fishing, crabbing, and camping merchandise, means Walmart will feature more season-specific items.

Of all the changes, though, the most visible is the addition of a massive orange tower near the front of the store. Behind the metal walls and touchscreens are 400 slots for holding mobile or online orders for pickup. “This makes the convenience of online shopping even more convenient,” Helton said. “You can come in anytime to pick that up—just scan your code and your package comes down for you; no one has to help you.”

Helton said that the new pickup tower and already existing grocery pickup have made shopping easier than ever. “I look at online grocery as the mom’s best friend,” he said.

 There were security upgrades as well, most notably automated gates by the entrances that only open inward. The gates do not allow for exit from within the store, so customers must exit through a checkout line, which management believes can help curtail shoplifting. “Those losses end up being part of cost,” Helton said of stolen items, “and we want to be the low-cost, low-price leader.”

“I think overall the floors we can keep cleaner, the new fitting room gives more opportunity for more people to try on clothes when they want to, our new paint department has state-of-the-art equipment, and our new tower is state-of-the-art as far as pickup,” Helton summarized. “So I think that’s a lot of things that will help.”