Walmart like Target lowered its quarterly and year-end guidance, citing the continuing drag of overstocked inventory and shoppers focusing on lower-margin essentials and less on general merchandise. The scenario is causing a negative effect on pricing and profit, causing a hit to its stock and others in retail.
Over the past couple years, several retailers have launched new scan & go pilots. Some are even calling this tired technology autonomous checkout, comparing it to systems from Amazon Go. But scan & go and autonomous checkout really have little in common. Here’s how the two tech-powered checkout processes differ.
Walmart is adding its in-home delivery service an option for Walmart+ subscribers, making it easier for them to access the service through a single registration as it expands to new markets. Amazon for its part is giving Prime members a year of free GrubHub deliveries, while getting an option for a 2% stake in the company.
Walmart plans to open up four high-tech, automated fulfillment centers over the next three years, which when completed will enable it to reach 95% of the country in the Amazon Prime standard of two days or less, while streamlining fulfillment processes and increasing throughput. The news drops between a Q1 miss and Prime Day.
Ecommerce sales will top $1 trillion for the first time this year, while Amazon will become the biggest retailer in the U.S. by 2026, surpassing Walmart with a 14.9% market share vs. 12.7%, according to a new report from Edge By Ascential. Costco and Home Depot will hold the number 3 and 4 spots, respectively, the report states.
The strategy behind inventory management in ecommerce and retail, difficult in the best of times, has gotten even trickier as inflation continues to dog the economy in the latter stages of Q2, supply chain issues linger and costs rise. Until the bigger picture begins to brighten, finding every avenue of cost savings is the order of the day.
Target joined fellow big-box retailer Walmart today in posting a first-quarter earnings figure well below expectations as inflationary strain, inventory overstocks and spiraling costs including from labor and fuel continue to challenge the sector. Same-day services were up 8% — but it had grown a whopping 120% in Q1 of 2021.
Walmart reported a disappointing earnings picture for the first quarter, blaming inflation, overstaffing, excess inventory and supply chain issues as the key culprits that sent profits below what analysts had been expecting. The top retailer reported $2.05B, in net income, down from $2.73B a year ago; ecommerce inched up 1%.
In an effort to lure in more third-party sellers as it battles Amazon’s dominant marketplace, Walmart is offering new sellers a 50% discount on commissions for 90 days, while also extending savings on Walmart’s version of FBA to new signups. Discount are available to new merchants who sign up by May 31 and start selling by June 30.
With heady revenue predictions for retail media north of $100 billion, it’s not surprising to see a surge of retailers opening advertising shops in attempts to capture share. But we’re still in the early days, with behemoths scooping up most of the brand spend. Here are six relationship and revenue-building strategies for retailers to consider.