Walmart looks back on busy digital 2023
Walmart revamped enterprise digital operations in the past year, including e-commerce, mobile, delivery, and third-party marketplace sales.
In a corporate blog post, the discount giant reviewed some of its digital milestones from 2023. Following are highlights in key areas of its enterprise:
E-commerce
In April, Walmart launched a product-focused home page that features a new “social-inspired scroll” with rich imagery and live video. The design enables online customers to browse Walmart’s product selection on its site and app the same way they would scroll a social media app.
In addition, the new Walmart online shopping experience highlights products that are most relevant to a customer at a specific moment, such as holiday gifts or items for watching a sporting event. As a result, the retailer said its suppliers and third-party marketplace sellers will have new, time-sensitive and contextual opportunities for showcasing relevant products and storytelling.
Walmart is creating a more social media-type online social shopping experience, including a focus on video, as TikTok becomes a more popular online shopping platform and Amazon offers its ownTikTok-like, product- and video-focused digital shopping experience called Inspire.
Mobile
Mobile innovation efforts pursued by Walmart in 2023 include a text-to-shop option, product discovery through digital photos and images, and the expansion of its augmented reality (AR)-based “View in Your Home" feature to over 200 televisions on its iOS app.
Delivery
Walmart has been actively expanding its fast delivery capability, and currently can reach nearly 90% of the U.S. population with next- or two-day shipping, including marketplace items shipped by Walmart Fulfillment Services. In September, the retailer began offering its Express Delivery service until 10 p.m. on orders placed by 9:30 p.m. at 4,000 stores across the U.S.
The discount chain, which leveraged its enhanced supply chain capabilities to provide a better customer experience for the 2023 holiday season, has more than 4,000 of its 4,700 U.S. stores operating as delivery hubs that fulfill and deliver a variety of different order types.
Third-party marketplace
In August 2023, the retailer kicked off its first-ever Walmart Marketplace Seller Summit, a two-day event attended by a group of third-party sellers that do business on the site. At that time, Walmart also unveiled several new online fulfillment and marketing capabilities designed to not only attract new sellers but retain existing ones.
These included local pickup and delivery, big and bulky and multi-box fulfillment from Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), and enabling brands to create their own curated pages and shelves on the Walmart site.
"In 2023, we saw strong growth and success in e-commerce," Tom Ward, executive VP and chief e-commerce officer, Walmart U.S., said in the blog post. "To those who shopped our endless aisles in 2023, thank you. We’re excited about the road ahead – we’ll continue testing, learning and innovating – all guided by customer feedback."