Walmart (WMT  ) set a new goal for itself. The nation's largest retailer will employ two-thirds of its hourly workforce on a full-time basis by January 31, 2022.

The move comes as retailers across the nation staff up to brace themselves for an influx of online and in-person shopping as vaccines accelerate and restrictions ease.

For context, the move will create 100,000 more full-time positions than Walmart had just five years ago.

"Having full-time associates has never been more important than it is right now," Drew Holler, Walmart's VP of people operations, wrote in a blog post. "That's why we're offering full-time associates set, consistent schedules with the same hours on the same days each week."

In making this move, Walmart hopes to mirror its staffing approach at its distribution and fulfillment centers, where 80% of employees work full time. The move comes during a surge in Walmart's delivery business. A surge that requires the company to take on more full-time employees as its stores increasingly operate as both fulfillment centers and retail space.

The move is the latest in a series of reforms launched by the Bentonville-based retailer, reforms which were likely accelerated due to the pandemic. Last year, it began its "Great Workplace" initiative, which reorganized Walmart's employees into teams that focus on a specific area of the store. The initiative also emphasizes employee development and training.

Holler told the AP that Walmart's employees are demanding full-time jobs, including health and dental benefits. By expanding the number of full-time employees, Walmart hopes to get an edge on competing retailers, as employers around the nation struggle to fill vacancies.

The number of available positions reached a two-year high this February. Still, employers are finding it challenging to fill these positions due to health and childcare concerns among potential employees.

"We know offering more full-time opportunities along with skills, training and equipping associates with tools to make work easier will help us continue to attract and retain top talent," writes Holler.

While Walmart's employees might laud the shift toward full-time employment, the retailer's ability to attract new talent might be hampered by its meager starting wage with new Walmart employees making only $11 an hour. For comparison, Target (TGT  ) and Amazon (AMZN  ) both pay their entry-level workers $15.

The move also comes amid a massive unionization push at Amazon. Walmart offered no comment when asked if its current efforts aim to dissuade its employees from making a similar push.