LONDON -- Some of the world's largest retailers are recognizing the pros and cons of offering their customers convenience, reports the Financial Times.

According to the newspaper, Eduardo Castro-Wright, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Wal-Mart, said in an interview that store format "will play and increasingly important role" in the big-box retailer's growth, which calls for a focus on convenience.

Castro-Wright told the newspaper that Wal-Mart is "looking at the Neighborhood Market format as a vehicle…to serve customers who need convenience for a key reason for shopping at Wal-Mart." The retailer currently operates about 100 of its smaller Neighborhood Market stores (about 40,000 square feet).

In Orlando, Wal-Mart spokesman Eric Brewer told Financial Times that he views the Neighborhood Markets as being for people who "walk in and ask what they are going to have for dinner tonight. We offer a lot of grab-and-go items, such as pre-prepared meals."

Meanwhile, Tesco is bringing its convenience concept to the United States with Tesco Express, which will be roughly the same size as a 7-Eleven or Circle K store at 3,000 square feet, writes the newspaper. Tesco's "premium range of 7,000 lines," ready-to-eat meals and packaged foods is also a concept U.S. grocery retailers have yet to capitalize on.

Darrell Rigby, director of the Boston office of Bain and Company, a global business consulting firm, told the newspaper that U.S. shoppers "will be surprised" at how Tesco defines a convenience store once the U.K. retailer lands stateside.