Walmart has redesigned its website and app to encourage shoppers to browse and buy more.
Walmart
Walmartthe digital store has a new look.
Starting this week, all customers who browse the company’s website and app will see larger and shinier photos, videos and social media-inspired content that Walmart hopes will prompt more purchases.
Tom Ward, director of e-commerce at Walmart, said the goal is to make online shopping easier and more engaging.
“If you walk into a store, you get inspired and excited by what you see,” he said. “So we thought, ‘How will you create the same inspiration and excitement in our nearest store – in our app?’
The massive-box retailer’s online makeover comes as consumers turn out to be increasingly reluctant to purchase discretionary goods comparable to clothing and consumer electronics while paying higher prices for necessities comparable to food and housing. In accordance with Circana, a combined market research firm formerly referred to as The NPD Group and IRI, sales of general merchandise in the United States fell 4% in dollars and 5% in units year-over-year.
Walmart felt it too. In recent quarters, its sales have increasingly come from groceries relatively than general merchandise. Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC in February that a more budget-conscious consumer mentality has been factored into the company’s outlook for this 12 months.
Walmart expects weaker sales in the coming months. It projects same-store sales for Walmart US to grow between 2% and 2.5% excluding fuel in the coming fiscal 12 months. The corporate expects adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal 12 months to be between $5.90 and $6.05, excluding fuel.
That may be down from the prior fiscal 12 months, when same-store sales were up 6.6% for Walmart US and adjusted earnings per share were $6.29, excluding fuel.
Ward admitted that “there’s a lot of speak about wants and needs right away.” He said that along with offering low prices, Walmart desires to attract the attention of shoppers by placing fresh, fashionable and seasonal items in front of them, comparable to spring dresses, outdoor furniture and Easter basket toys.
He said the new website and app design could also boost sales for third-party retailers who’ve joined or may join the Walmart marketplace. With the sale of its own goods, Walmart discarded the manual Amazon using an external marketplace to expand your online product range and earn money by selling success services.
E-commerce has turn out to be a more significant a part of Walmart’s business, especially after the pressure from the Covid pandemic. Online sales accounted for about $53.4 billion – or nearly 13% – of Walmart US’s total net sales in the last fiscal 12 months, which resulted in late January, in response to company records. That is a jump from $15.7 billion or about 5% of Walmart US’s total net sales in 2019.
Walmart US online sales were up 17% year-on-year in the holiday quarter and 12% year-on-year for the full fiscal 12 months.
The retailer is anticipated to share its latest forecast and strategy during an investor day this week in Tampa, Florida.