Walmart is poised to launch a wide-ranging remodel of 20 California stores, including four in the Bay Area, the retailing behemoth said Wednesday.

The gambit by Walmart arrives amid what’s being described as a retail apocalypse for the brick-and-mortar operations of an array of merchants forced to confront blurry futures due to an unprecedented shift by consumers to online shopping.

Walmart intends to spend $145 million on the remodels of the stores in California, as well as the opening of a new store in the Tehachapi Mountains area of Southern California, the retailer said.

“The investments in California stores Walmart has planned this year demonstrate our commitment to our customers and the communities where we operate,” said Todd Siron, a Walmart regional vice president and general manager in California.

In addition to the 20 stores being remodeled, Walmart intends to open a new store this year in the Kern County town of Tehachapi.

The four Bay Area sites that are being remodeled during 2019 include Walmart stores in Napa, Vacaville, Morgan Hill and Gilroy, the retailer said.

Other Walmart stores in northern and central California that are being renovated include retail sites in Atwater, Modesto, Lincoln, Paso Robles, Roseville and Tracy.

Walmart also will widen California tech-oriented innovations such as grocery delivery, grocery pickup and the retailer’s pickup towers, which are 16-foot-tall vending machines where people can retrieve an online order, using a digital system of smart phones and bar codes.

“The upcoming store remodels and innovations” Siron said, “are centered on helping our customers save time and money.”