Microsoft and Walmart team up to take on Amazon

guest · Mar 1, 2020

Walmart and Verizon may turn stores into 5G hubs
It'd be part of a push to offer digital health at Walmart shops
March 1, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/01/walmart-and-verizon-5g-at-stores/

It might not be long before your 5G phone is helpful during your next shopping trip. Wall Street Journal sources say Walmart and Verizon (Engadget's parent company) are in talks to equip stores with 5G service, starting with a pair of stores this year.

Not surprisingly, this would have other perks: it could provide faster connections for the rest of the store and provide a speedier data link to people in and around the store.
For Walmart, this could turn its stores into medical hubs for communities where dedicated clinics (not to mention wired internet providers) are rare. You'd have a reason to visit Walmart for more than your prescription.
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guest · Apr 9, 2020

Walmart Grocery app sees record downloads amid COVID-19, surpasses Amazon by 20%
April 9, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/09/w...wnloads-amid-covid-19-surpasses-amazon-by-20/

Record demand for online grocery shopping amid the COVID-19 pandemic has sent the apps for grocery pickup and delivery services up the charts. Walmart Grocery, as a result, has now hit an all-time high in downloads — grabbing the No. 1 ranking position across all Shopping apps in the U.S. on April 5, 2020, and surpassing Amazon by 20%, according to a new analysis from app intelligence firm App Annie.

The Walmart Grocery application retained that No. 1 position for at least two days, the firm said, citing data from both the Google Play store and the Apple App Store, combined.
The surge of interest in Walmart Grocery may complicate Walmart’s plans to wind down the standalone app to instead merge Walmart Grocery into the retailer’s flagship mobile application and website.
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guest · Apr 30, 2020

Walmart to introduce express delivery
April 30, 2020
https://www.turnto23.com/news/national/walmart-to-introduce-express-delivery

Today, Walmart announced Express Delivery, a new service that delivers items from the store to customers’ doors in less than two hours.
Express Delivery has been implemeted due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The service will expand to nearly 1,000 stores in early May and will be available in nearly 2,000 total stores in the following weeks.

“We know our customers’ lives have changed during this pandemic and so has the way they shop,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart.
Walmart’s Delivery Unlimited customers’ will simply pay a $10 fee per Express Delivery. Like Walmart’s pickup and delivery services, there is no markup on items – an item is priced the same as it is on the shelf.

To get started, customers go to walmart.com/grocery or the Walmart app and search their zip code to see if Express Delivery is offered in their area.
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guest · May 11, 2020

mood said: ↑

Walmart to introduce express delivery April 30, 2020
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How Walmart uses AI to enable two-hour Express Delivery
May 11, 2020
https://venturebeat.com/2020/05/11/how-walmart-uses-ai-to-enable-two-hour-express-delivery/

Last month, Walmart launched Express Delivery, a service that allows customers to receive orders in two hours or less. Pilot tests began across 100 U.S. stores on April 16, and Walmart plans to expand Express Delivery to nearly 1,000 stores in early May and about 2,000 in the weeks after.

Walmart spoke with VentureBeat about the AI systems underlying Express Delivery, which range from a logistics algorithm that accounts for conditions to an alerting platform that prioritizes orders for a network of over 74,000 personal shoppers. While some systems were in place prior to Express Delivery’s development, others had to be architected from scratch.

In its conversation with VentureBeat, a Walmart rep was careful to position Express Delivery as merely another way the company is meeting customer demand for speedy fulfillment. The program’s launch follows Ship to Store, which arranges for the delivery of items to stores near a customer’s address.
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guest · May 18, 2020

FedEx, Microsoft are teaming up to deliver packages, widening gap with Amazon
May 18, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/18/fed...eliver-packages-widening-gap-with-amazon.html

Microsoft and FedEx announced a joint, multiyear partnership on Monday that the pair believe could help “transform commerce” through FedEx’s logistics network and Microsoft’s cloud.

The two said their first service, called FedEx Surround, will give real-time analytics into supply chain and delivery, so companies could potentially better ship goods.
The companies did not disclose the full nature of the partnership, including how much FedEx will be paying Microsoft to use its Azure cloud technology. But the partnership represents yet another example of Amazon rivals choosing to go with Microsoft’s cloud offering over the cloud computing market leader Amazon Web Services (AWS).
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guest · May 19, 2020

Walmart says it will discontinue Jet, which it acquired for $3B in 2016
May 19, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/19/w...nue-jet-com-which-it-acquired-for-3b-in-2016/

So much for Walmart’s big and expensive effort to take on Amazon with a digitally-native brand.

Amid the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the retail industry, today the retail giant quietly announced in its quarterly report that it would be discontinuing Jet.com, the online-only marketplace that it acquired when it was just over one year old for $3 billion (plus $300 million in earn-outs over time), [...]
Jet.com’s fate was disclosed as part of a Walmart’s Q1 earnings report, in which the company said it saw growth of less than 10% in its core US market, and said that it would be withdrawing guidance for fiscal 2021.

Expected, because in reality Jet.com hasn’t shaped up to be the jewel in the crown that Walmart had hoped it would become, going through a number of restructuring attempts over the years as e-commerce overall continued to bleed red.
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The big question now will be whether Walmart can continue to grow its e-commerce business, and reduce its losses, by shifting the focus from an Amazon-style model of fulfilment warehouses to giant stores, which serve a double purpose both to push its brick-and-mortar strategy, and to serve as the fulfilment hubs for the online-facing part of its business.
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guest · May 31, 2020

Walmart employees are out to show its anti-shoplifting AI doesn’t work
The retailer denies there is any widespread issue with the software
May 31, 2020
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...-to-show-its-anti-shoplifting-ai-doesnt-work/

In January, my coworker received a peculiar email. The message, which she forwarded to me, was from a handful of corporate Walmart employees calling themselves the “Concerned Home Office Associates.” (Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, is often referred to as the Home Office.) While it’s not unusual for journalists to receive anonymous tips, they don’t usually come with their own slickly produced videos.
[...] the workers claimed it misidentified innocuous behavior as theft and often failed to stop actual instances of stealing.

They told WIRED they were dismayed that their employer—one of the largest retailers in the world—was relying on AI they believed was flawed. One worker said that the technology was sometimes even referred to internally as “NeverSeen” because of its frequent mistakes. WIRED granted the employees anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the press.
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guest · Jun 15, 2020

Walmart to integrate Shopify to boost its Walmart Marketplace assortment
The move could give small and medium-sized businesses a big distribution boost
June 15, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/walma...-to-boost-its-walmart-marketplace-assortment/

Walmart said that it is partnering with Shopify to add small businesses to its Walmart Marketplace of third-party sellers.

In a blog post, Walmart said Shopify will give it access to more than 1 million businesses and third-party sellers. Walmart said the integration with Shopify will focus on US small businesses.
For Walmart, Shopify can help the company diversify its selection on its shopping network. Walmart said that growing its marketplace is a strategic priority and it will start with adding 1,200 Shopify sellers this year.
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Walmart: Walmart Expands Its eCommerce Marketplace to More Small Businesses

For years, building an eCommerce Marketplace customers trust has been a priority for our business. That’s why we are joining forces with Shopify, an all-in-one commerce platform used by more than 1 million businesses, to open the Walmart Marketplace to their sellers. As our CEO Doug McMillon recently said, competition is good in the retail business, and we want more retailers not fewer.
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hawki · Jul 7, 2020

"Walmart’s Amazon Prime competitor will launch in July

Amazon may have a 15-year head start, but Walmart is close to finally unveiling its own membership program that it hopes will eventually become an alternative to Amazon Prime.

Walmart plans to launch a new subscription service later this month called Walmart+ that will cost $98 a year. It will include perks like same-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise, discounts on fuel at Walmart gas stations, and early access to product deals..."

https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/7...azon-prime-membership-loyalty-program-walmart

guest · Jul 27, 2020

mood said: ↑

Walmart to integrate Shopify to boost its Walmart Marketplace assortment
The move could give small and medium-sized businesses a big distribution boost
June 15, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/walma...-to-boost-its-walmart-marketplace-assortment/
Walmart: Walmart Expands Its eCommerce Marketplace to More Small Businesses
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Walmart Marketplace seller additions surge following Shopify deal, up 3x from January
July 27, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/27/w...ge-following-shopify-deal-up-3x-from-january/

Walmart’s recent partnership with Shopify to expand its online marketplace appears to already be paying off.

Following the Shopify announcement, the marketplace added 3,000 more sellers in June and is expected to exceed 3,600 in July, according to a new report from research firm Marketplace Pulse. That’s triple how many sellers it was adding at the beginning of 2020, the firm’s numbers indicate.
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The e-commerce intelligence firm, which works directly with retailers and marketplaces and produces industry analysis, looked into Walmart Marketplace’s accelerated growth following the Shopify deal. It found that within the first six weeks after the June 15th partnership announcement, Walmart’s Marketplace added over 5,000 new sellers.
In comparison, Walmart’s Marketplace added only 1,296 new sellers in January 2020.

Of course, not all this recent growth can be attributable to Shopify. The pandemic has sent a surge of customers to shop online and sellers are arriving to meet that demand. But Marketplace Pulse believes Walmart has already surpassed its goal of 1,200 new Shopify sellers by year-end.
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guest · Aug 5, 2020

hawki said: ↑

"Walmart’s Amazon Prime competitor will launch in July

Amazon may have a 15-year head start, but Walmart is close to finally unveiling its own membership program that it hopes will eventually become an alternative to Amazon Prime. [...]
https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/7...azon-prime-membership-loyalty-program-walmart
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Walmart's Amazon Prime competitor is delayed, again
Walmart+, a $98-per-year subscription service, was supposed to be out in July
August 5, 2020
https://www.engadget.com/walmart-plus-delayed-111526299.html

The coronavirus pandemic has been hindering Walmart’s plans to introduce its answer to Amazon Prime. According to Recode, the service called Walmart+ was originally supposed to roll out in March or April, but the retail giant was forced to push its launch back to July due to COVID-19.

However, no launch happened last month either. Recode says it’s because Walmart has delayed the subscription service’s debut yet again, and it’s unclear if the company has a new date in mind. It’s also unclear if its availability will be limited to certain regions at first.
Walmart+ will start as a rebranded version of the company’s Delivery Unlimited service, which costs subscribers $98 a year for unlimited same-day deliveries for grocery and select goods.
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While Walmart+ doesn’t have concrete launch date yet, Recode notes that the project is a top priority for the company. Walmart needs a Prime competitor if it wants to catch up with Amazon, which is valued at $1.56 trillion and is the world’s biggest retailer by market value.
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guest · Aug 11, 2020

Walmart teams up with Instacart to rival Amazon for same-day grocery delivery
Walmart is joining the Instacart platform at long last
August 11, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/...y-grocery-delivery-amazon-whole-foods-rivalry

Walmart is partnering with grocery delivery platform Instacart in yet another bid to rival Amazon and its growing offline network of Whole Foods stores and same- and one-day Prime delivery.

The partnership, first reported on Tuesday by CNBC, means Walmart customers in four pilot markets spanning California and Oklahoma can now choose Walmart’s grocery options when putting together an Instacart order.
But linking up with Instacart — which, similar to Amazon, has seen its business boom thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic — might help Walmart in the online ordering and logistics side of the business.

“The new partnership brings thousands of items — from groceries, alcohol and pantry staples to home decor and improvement, personal care, electronics and more — at everyday low prices from Walmart stores to customers’ doors in as fast as an hour.”
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guest · Aug 18, 2020

Walmart's online sales surged 97% in second quarter
August 18, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/walmarts-online-sales-surged-97-in-second-quarter/

Walmart's online sales have surged throughout the coronavirus pandemic as US consumers continue to shop from home and opt for the store's delivery and curbside pickup options.

The world's largest retailer said its second quarter US e-commerce sales rose 97% while same-store sales increased 9.3%. The increase was led by Walmart's online grocery business, where pickup and delivery services experienced all-time high sales volumes.
Like Amazon, Walmart is one of the primary retail winners during the pandemic.

Walmart's online grocery and e-commerce strategy -- which relies heavily on the chain's enormous physical footprint -- lines up with the company's broader omnichannel efforts as it chases Amazon's success online.
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guest · Sep 1, 2020

Walmart takes on Amazon Prime with cheap subscription service, gas deals
Walmart hopes free unlimited deliveries and fuel discounts will lure Prime users over to the other side
September 1, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/walma...me-with-cheap-subscription-service-gas-deals/

Walmart has launched its long-awaited subscription delivery service in another bid to compete against the growing dominance of Amazon Prime.

On Monday, the US retail giant said Walmart+ will cost members $98 per year, undercutting Amazon's annual fee of $119 for Prime.
Launching September 15, Walmart+ has taken over the subscription-based Delivery Unlimited service, in which current subscribers will be converted automatically to Walmart+ members.

In some locations, same-day delivery services will be made available.
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Walmart's announcement emphasizes that subscription benefits "will continue to grow over time," suggesting that the company intends for Walmart+ to eventually become a serious competitor to Amazon Prime.
However, free shipping stipulates an order of at least $35, as noted by the New York Times.
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Walmart: Walmart Introduces Walmart+

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Sept. 1, 2020 — Walmart is launching a new membership program that brings together in-store and online benefits to save customers money and time like no other retailer can: Walmart+.

These benefits come in addition to the retailer’s existing customer offerings like Walmart’s free curbside pickup, NextDay delivery and two-day delivery. Walmart will continue to have delivery options with a per-delivery transaction fee so customers can choose the service that’s best for them.
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guest · Sep 16, 2020

Walmart Plus launches today — everything you need to know
Walmart Plus is taking on Amazon Prime
September 15, 2020
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/walmart-plus-membership-free-delivery

Walmart Plus is a new membership program and direct competitor to Amazon Prime. The service offers subscribers in-store and online benefits, such as unlimited free delivery and fuel discounts from participating gas stations.
In terms of price, Walmart Plus costs $98 a year or $12.95 a month. Even better, it includes a free 15-day trial, which you can sign up for today.
Walmart Plus date
Walmart Plus enrollment is live as of September 15. The service was originally supposed to launch in the spring. However, the pandemic delayed its debut to September.

Walmart Plus is launching with a handful of benefits that will grow with time.
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Walmart: Walmart+ is Here!

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Sept. 15, 2020 — Customers across the country can now sign up for Walmart+, the company’s new membership option aimed at saving customers time and money like no other retailer can.
Starting today, customers can sign up for Walmart+ at walmart.com/plus. The membership will cost $98 a year or $12.95 a month and includes a 15-day free trial period.

“We designed Walmart+ to be the ultimate life hack for customers, pulling together benefits they told us would be most helpful to them today and in the future. Its usefulness will only grow from here.”
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guest · Dec 2, 2020

Walmart+ takes on Prime in a big way by dropping its greatest limitation
December 2, 2020
https://www.slashgear.com/walmart-t...by-dropping-its-greatest-limitation-02649550/

Walmart+, the retailer’s subscription service, is about to become a bit more appealing for diehard Prime fans.
The company has announced that it will remove its minimum order requirement for shipping, meaning you’ll be able to impulsively order whatever little trinket or gadget you may need. Other features, such as grocery deliveries, remain the same.

In an announcement today, the company said that it will remove its $35 minimum order requirement for shipping, meaning that as of December 4, subscribers will be able to order and get shipped any single thing they may need without having to pad the order with extra items to get free shipping.
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Walmart: Walmart+ Putting Something Extra Under the Tree for Members, Removing Shipping Minimum on Walmart.com Orders

Beginning Dec. 4, Walmart is expanding the benefit list of Walmart+. Just in time for the holidays, Walmart is removing the $35 shipping minimum for Walmart.com orders for its members. This new benefit paired with free unlimited deliveries of groceries and more from Walmart stores makes the retailer’s membership program even more comprehensive.
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guest · Jul 28, 2021

Walmart to sell its e-commerce technologies to other retailers
https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/28/walmart-to-sell-its-e-commerce-technologies-to-other-retailers/

Walmart’s investments in software and retail technologies it used to transform its business from a brick-and-mortar to one that combines both in-person and online shopping will now be made available to other retailers for the first time, the company announced today. Through a strategic partnership with Adobe, Walmart will integrate access to Walmart’s Marketplace, as well as its various online and in-store fulfillment and pickup technologies, into the Adobe Commerce Platform.

The technologies will be made available to both Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source customers, Adobe says.
The deal will allow Walmart to potentially reach thousands of small to mid-sized retailers, who will effectively be able to tap into the same tools that one of the largest global retailers is using to run their business.
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Another aspect of the partnership will allow retailers to syndicate and sell their products across Walmart’s Marketplace.
The arrangement not only aims to benefit Walmart’s bottom line as it offers new revenue streams related to retail technologies, it could also serve as another tool in Walmart’s battle with Amazon for online retail dominance.

Retail businesses will use the Adobe Commerce platform to reach an expanded set of customers by listing products on Walmart’s Marketplace and then leverage Walmart’s Fulfillment Services to offer two-day shopping across the U.S.
And this, in turn, could boost the number of available products sold on Walmart’s Marketplace, which is still largely dwarfed by Amazon.
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