Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has deep roots in brick-and-mortar shopping, but CEO Doug McMillion has long recognized the company’s need to invest substantially in technology. This endeavor has not always been without difficulty. In 2016, the retail behemoth paid $3.3 billion to acquire Jet.com’s executive team, led by Marc Lore, and its technology. Depending on your perspective, this transaction was either a monumental failure or a massive success. The retailer discontinued Jet.com after a few years of minimal brand development. Lore, though, oversaw Walmart’s digital operations and compelled the retailer to invest in its supply chain and online operations, despite the protests of many of its longstanding leaders.
Lore, supported by McMillon, knew that the multinational retail corporation (NYSE:WMT) had to directly compete with Amazon’s most significant advantage — free two-day shipping. It (NYSE:WMT) was compelled to spend billions to match the chain’s offer (although on a far narrower selection of products) when he pressured the chain to do the same. This transformed the retail chain from a brick-and-mortar industry leader into an actual omnichannel enterprise. The company (NYSE:WMT) can enable online orders, buy-online-pickup-in-store, and buy-online-return-in-store, as well as curbside pickup and food delivery, by utilizing its extensive network of stores.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) may not have Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Report’s digital-first DNA, but it has established itself as a formidable online and in-store competitor. Now, the retail behemoth has acquired to bolster its ongoing supply chain and logistics struggle with its chief competitor.
Walmart Makes a Crucial Acquisition
The epidemic has heightened customers’ awareness of supply chain issues. Before toilet paper ran out of stock, nobody gave it a second thought when a popular product was occasionally unavailable. When this occurred, followed by numerous additional pandemic-related shortages, what was and was not accessible became a topic of public discourse. This consumer strategy persisted even as the pandemic’s effects subsided, compelling businesses such as Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to make substantial investments to stock their physical and digital shelves with the necessary commodities.
To facilitate this, the multinational retail corporation (NYSE:WMT) has acquired a startup that will provide its suppliers with a clearer view of retail activity. The corporation issued a press release with the news. Walmart said that it is acquiring Volt Systems, a technology business that offers suppliers improved visibility into merchandising resources on demand. “The application delivers current store-level data, actionable analytics, and shelf intelligence for suppliers to plan, forecast, and optimize product assortment.” The objective is to provide customers with “a more smooth Omni shopping experience, with less friction caused by out-of-stocks.”
Walmart Has One Big Advantage Over Amazon
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has deftly capitalized on its most excellent edge versus Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). The chain can provide curbside pickup and allow consumers to examine an item, such as a television or piece of exercise equipment, before having it delivered to their homes. This is something that its chief opponent cannot do. Omni channel purchasing allows customers to combine in-store and online purchases as they see fit. Walmart (NYSE:WMT) operates almost 5,000 locations in the United States.
For the majority of Americans, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is practically just down the road. In the United States, the median distance to a Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is 4.2 miles Professor of economics at the University of Minnesota and research department consultant at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Thomas J. Holmes, asserts.
This is a tremendous advantage for Walmart (NYSE:WMT) that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) cannot match. It’s also a means for the corporation to compete on speed and convenience without spending the billions of dollars its digital competitor has spent creating its delivery infrastructure.
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