Walmart and Jet.com.com will remain separate brands from a front-end perspective, and the recent acquisition won’t have any appreciable impact on the upcoming holiday season, said David Spitz, CEO of ChannelAdvisor.
[Related: Walmart Confirms Jet.com.com Acquisition]
“They will remain distinct websites and consumer experiences,” said Spitz. “We continue to see Walmart invest heavily in growing ecommerce and strong same-store sales as they start to leverage their cross-channel traffic. They also have eight million visitors a month, so being able to leverage that across both properties could provide opportunities for growth.”
In August, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said during a second quarter earnings call that operating Walmart.com and Jet.com.com will allow Walmart to reach even more customers and drive a higher level of growth more quickly.
McMillon said one of the things they liked about the technology Jet.com.com developed is that it rewards customers in real time with savings on a basket of goods and puts them more in charge of the price they pay.
“When customers build a basket of goods online rather than ordering one item at a time, shipping economics are in their favor and ours,” said McMillon. “Walmart’s advantage has always been in providing the lowest prices on a basket, and Jet.com has created a unique way to deliver the lowest cost basket online.”
Spitz said Walmart also invested in Indian marketplace FlipKart, so it will be interesting to see if Walmart takes Jet.com’s technology internationally.
Walmart and Jet.com.com will continue to develop new technology solutions and products aimed at offering consumers a faster discount shopping experience. Spitz said one of the most important things Walmart gains is a broader assortment and product selection.
“What is interesting is that 44% of the U.S. population lives within 20 miles of an Amazon fulfillment center, and 90% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart,” said Spitz. “When you start to think about how to leverage that store footprint like buy online pickup in store or ship from store, we think there is a significant battlefield in logistics.”
Spitz said considering how consumers are expecting one day, same day or even one-hour delivery – prompted of course by Amazon’s lightning fulfillment – the potential of Walmart’s significant store and distribution center network is one it should take further advantage of.
“The draw of ecommerce more than anything is saving you time and money,” said Spitz. “(Having thousands of stores as fulfillment centers) is a pretty telling experience that even Amazon can’t match today.”
Daniela Forte is Multichannel Merchant’s Associate Editor