Marc Lore, Walmart’s CEO of U.S. Ecommerce, pushed back on critics at ShopTalk by saying the company’s Q4 ecommerce sales falloff was planned, that Walmart doesn’t give quarterly online sales guidance and that the company was taking the opportunity to “create a healthier business.”
A former director of business development for Walmart claims in a lawsuit the company skirted rules and published misleading results that helped to inflate its ecommerce numbers, according to Bloomberg. Walmart denies the claims and said it will vigorously defend itself.
Walmart announced it is launching four new private brands in the apparel category, two for women and one each for men and children. The company said the new brand rollout is intended to create a one-stop destination for fashion as well as everyday essentials, electronics and the rest of the broad assortment of categories.
As merchants search for ways to contend with the behemoth of Amazon – which accounted for about half of ecommerce sales in 2017 – many are focusing on the last mile, returns and outsourcing to battle back. This MCM Outlook report, based on our annual survey of Multichannel Merchant readers, looks at trends and stats in all three areas.
Walmart subscription bulk buying subsidiary Sam’s Club is rolling out an Amazon Prime-like service offering unlimited free shipping on nearly all items for its Plus members at $100 a year, $1 more than Prime charges, with no minimum order threshold.
Walmart has added features to its mobile app to help customers navigate stores quicker, including making Walmart Pay, the search bar and scanner more accessible and user friendly. See what these enhancements are and the plans why mobile commerce is such an integral part of the shopping experience.
While everyday use of virtual reality in retail may be a few years off, Walmart and its Store No. 8 innovation and incubator division are looking to get ahead of the curve with the acquisition of startup Spatialand.
Walmart Stores Inc. announced that Judith McKenna will be promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Walmart International, the company’s second-largest operating segment.
Walmart’s incubator Store No. 8 has launched three startups thus far, with plans for two more in the next year or so, said the company’s head of corporate strategy who also oversees ventures at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York.
In the kind of move that many industry observers have talked about, Walmart said it plans to close 63 Sam’s Club stores, while converting 12 of them into ecommerce fulfillment centers. The facilities will close over the next few weeks, the company said. Here is what Walmart has planned for these locations and what it could mean for its ecommerce business.