Walmart news 

Marc Lore, president and CEO, Walmart US ecommerce, is leaving the business at the end of January. He will remain as a strategic advisor to the retailer until the end of September. Transformed Walmart’s ecommerce operations Lore joined Walmart in 2016 as part of the acquisition of Jet.com, the ecommerce business he founded. In addition to being able to optimise the capabilities of Jet.com, ...

Walmart is partnering with HomeValet to pilot online grocery deliveries directly into smart boxes located outside customers’ homes. Temperature controlled, IoT enabled Starting this spring, customers in Bentonville, Arkansas, will be able to receive deliveries from their local Walmart directly into a temperature-controlled smart box. This features an IoT (Internet of Things) enabled platfor...

Walmart is partnering with Ribbit Capital to create a new fintech startup organisation with a focus on developing innovative and affordable financial solutions. Optimising Walmart’s scale This new partnership brings together Walmart’s retail knowledge and scale with Ribbit’s fintech expertise to deliver tech-driven financial experiences. The global investment firm is focused on investing in...

We review major events that took place in China's grocery retail industry in the past year. 1. Flourishing of community stores Community store is the next big thing in China. It is estimated that 30% - 40% of the urban consumption expenditure is within 1 km of the community in China. It is an area that big format stores and online players find very hard to reach. The pandemic has acce...

We look at how several of the leading US retailers are supporting the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine. Walmart supporting healthcare workers in rural areas This month, Walmart has started to administer the Moderna vaccine to healthcare workers (Priority 1A) in New Mexico. Store locations have been selected to support its administration in more rural areas. Given the vital role its stores, ...

Walmart is partnering with some of TikTok’s most popular creators to offer a livestream shopping experience. Shopping directly from the TikTok platform Through this partnership the TikTok community will be able to purchase fashion items featured in content from the creators. They will be able to do this without leaving the TikTok platform. This will be the first shoppable livestream event o...

New data from IGD reveals that the online grocery channel is set to represent 5% of the US grocery market by 2022, with a value of $82.0bn. Channel sales almost doubling in 2020 This new forecast represents a significant acceleration of growth within the channel. Previously we had forecast that sales through the channel would not reach this value until 2025. This new forecast aligns with re...

Walmart is expanding its existing pilot programme with Gatik to test driverless deliveries. It is also going to test a longer route in Louisiana. Testing along the middle-mile Walmart initially partnered with autonomous vehicle company, Gatik, last year in Bentonville, Arkansas. The retailer has been using Gatik’s ‘Autonomous Box Trucks’ to move customer orders on a two-mile route between a...

On November 5 Walmart Mexico (Walmex) opened the first store under its Walmart Express banner. Following our in-depth look at the strategy and expansion plans for the new banner, we now take a closer look at the pilot store and its new features. Source: Walmex Refreshed design and layout The store’s design has been modernised. New signage, with large lettering and colourful imag...

Walmart plans to acquire the talent, technology platform and IP of JoyRun, a technology start-up based out of Silicon Valley, which operates a peer-to-peer delivery platform. Optimising local networks JoyRun essentially enables users to pickup and deliver items for friends and neighbours. It is used as a last-mile delivery platform by more than 500 companies, with over 30,000 people serving...