Walmart Boast E-Commerce Gains with Eyes on Amazon
By Alex Batty, MHI Marketing Communications Coordinator |@mhi_alex
As a giant introvert, and lover of deals, online shopping has been a boon to me, and Amazon has been the captain of that ship. But Walmart (my beloved) has been working on developing their online offerings, and they’re reporting gains on the e-commerce front.
Along with upping the number of items they offer online and developing programs like site-to-store and curbside pickup, Walmart bought Jet.com, as well as ModCloth and Moosejaw, to help expand their online offerings, with an eye on working to compete with Amazon.
Amazon, while accounting for more than half of all online shopping in the US, is becoming the goal point for major retailers, but omni-channel fulfillment, which blends online and brick-and-mortar sales, provides an option for multi-channel sales growth that has huge potential. Omni-channel fulfillment gives customers what they want: options.
What’s interesting about this particular scenario is that Walmart already has large warehouses and DCs across the country. If they can simply leverage those better for online and omni-channel distribution, they’re set up to be really productive (and profitable) in that area of the business.
Walmart is also working to improve the shopping experience in their stores, with increasing amounts of self-checkout (relying on automation) and changes in layout (which I’ve noticed in my own Walmart. They’re doing shelf-shifts, and I’m just like “ooh. Buddy. That’s rough. Have fun.”)
While I personally am still using Walmart for physical purchases and Amazon for online purchases and shopping between the two for price comparisons (I’m super cheap if you haven’t picked that up by now), this is a development that may (may) change the way I shop. After all, if I could order something random online on Wednesday, and then just pick it up Friday afternoon when I’m already going in to get groceries rather than waiting for a driver to drop it off when I’m not home and leading to me chasing the package… well, I might be interested in that.
Still, options are the best.
