Dive Brief:

• Starting next week, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is closing about 40 of its 24-hour supercenters for some hours at night, the retailer said Wednesday.

• More than 20 of stores have already reduced their hours this way, and such changes will continue to be instituted on a store-by-store basis, the company said.

• The retailer says that stores that aren’t seeing much activity in the night hours are seeing the closures, but that some workers will continue to stick around to stock shelves and complete other duties overnight. Others will be offered different shifts or severance packages.

Dive Insight:

Wal-Mart has been proud of the super-convenience of its 24-hour supercenters’ availability, but it looks like it may not be quite worth it. The retailer has been working to improve its in-store experience, including paying workers a bit better to get that done. But it also seems bent on reining in costs lately — dampening executive compensation somewhat and playing hardball with suppliers.

Edward D. Jones & Co. analyst Brian Yarbrough told Bloomberg that Wal-Mart most likely will end 24-hour shopping nationwide for the most part. “I question if it is a test and could become a national rollout,” Yarbrough said. “There aren’t that many shoppers there overnight. How many people are going to Wal-Mart at 2 in the morning?”

Indeed, unless Wal-Mart finds a surprising windfall is actually happening overnight, look for more cutbacks in hours. The retailer will lose its ability to offer uber-convenience in store, but those late-night shoppers can go online. Of course, the trouble is, that means they could go to Amazon or Target.com as easily as Walmart.com. But, then again, that’s the omnichannel world.