Posted on 01/14/2017 10:10:15 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Wal-Mart is reorganizing its e-commerce team and upgrading executives from its recent Jet.com acquisition to compete with Amazon with higher selectivity and lower prices.
The changes are aimed at making Wal-Mart more customer-focused, Jet founder Marc Lore, who is now the Executive Chairman of Wal-Mart's e-commerce operation, said on Friday in a memo Bloomberg had access. Wal-Mart bought Jet in September for about $ 3.3 billion and is appealing to the startup to push for an online operation that has lagged behind Amazon.
"We've talked a lot about becoming a more customer-centric organization," Lore said. "Our strategy is to offer more options, competitive prices - especially in food and other consumer products - and operate with the strength of the most efficient e-commerce supply chain in the world."
The company is reorganizing its equipment online so it can serve customers regardless of whether they buy online, through smartphones or in stores, according to the memo. The main promotions include the designation of Scott Hilton as revenue director, who will be in charge of adjusting the various digital stores, markets, and online retailers. Jeremy King has been promoted to chief technology officer for the United States and Wal-Mart's e-commerce and retail technology teams will unify, according to Recode.
Seth Beal will lead a new division of strategic partnerships and incubation and will focus on identifying which areas have the greatest potential for growth. Wal-Mart is increasingly pressured as Amazon gets into the food business. Large retailers have traditionally used food to attract shoppers to the stores, expecting them to then buy electronics, clothing, and other items that have higher profit margins.
But Amazon could now capture more of those customers. The online giant is even targeting recipients of food stamps as part of a pilot program that will begin in the summer. Wal-Mart responds to that threat with its Jet.com Fresh service, which offers fresh food delivery without charging a membership fee, according to Financial Times.
The memo shows that Wal-Mart seeks to match Amazon's reputation as a customer-centric company. The company will create a new team to deal with issues such as returns and fraud prevention, a problem that becomes more important as Wal-Mart relies more on third parties selling in its market.
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I guess future generations will think food falls like manna from the sky
Their solution is shopping online, then you drive to their store and they put the groceries in your vehicle. See: "How Walmart plans to transform the way we buy groceries" from 3 months ago.
They are thinking this is perfectly suited to young Moms with little ones in tow as well as anybody else who hates going into stores. The big problem they face is teaching their workers how to buy high-quality produce, dairy, and meats and how to get the people who assemble the orders to be discriminating in their selection of what goes into the bag. Getting a box of mushy strawberries or sprouted moldy potatoes home just one time will really turn people off. What may have passed the personal quality/acceptance criteria for their workers may not be acceptable to customers.
As they say, "You only get one chance to make a first impression."
Wal-Mart is not as responsive as Amazon. Not terrible but not as slick and efficient. If it isn’t user friendly I would go to Amazon, fast and dependable, even thought I do order online from Wal-Mart. It frustrates me that I seek to order online and pick up at my Wal-Mart store only to find the item won’t be available for several days. But when I added to the cart it said it was available for pick up at my store. I had to return a wedding gift I ordered and get something else when I realized too late it would not be there in time. Now I double check before submitting orders.
What Walmart needs to REALLY BE DOING if they are to stay on top is to try to understand the Trump economy and adjust to it. In particular, the cheap imports from China will likely evaporate - so they better be looking at alternatives and even considering slowing down their present pipelines and contracts (i.e., huge cargo ships coming from Asia will likely be much less frequent soon).
I don’t know if they’re doing that...or, more likely, just being complacent and figuring that Trump will turn Globalist - if they are thinking that, they’ll end up like Sears.
It’s amazing that if you see when EBT/SSI get turned on, Wal-Mart is busy at 1 am with blacks (I worked for Wal-Mart at nights for 3 years. My gosh...rudest people, IMHO black females at 3 am).
Walmart’s website is super slow. I dread going there.
I have the Walmart Shopping Pass, but after the initial month of its start I noticed some of the heavier items I buy were taken off Shopping Pass.
My go to is Amazon. Yesterday we needed dog food. A new Pet Supermarket had opened in our neighborhood and we had a $5 off coupon. We decided to price shop. Hubby went to the pet store, and checked the price of the food, even with the $5 off coupon, it was more expensive. Then I checked Walmart, they did not carry the particular brand we buy...so to Amazon, and they were cheapest. I bought it at noon, it was at our door at 8 PM last night, so same day shipping and it was free.
I always price shop between Amazon and Walmart, then order which is cheaper, and Amazon wins many times. My husband does our shopping and he hates to go there, so I only use them online. Even with Shipping Pass, Walmart takes longer to get orders to us, versus Amazon which is always on time, a lot of times early (we have a hub near us, so I imagine that’s why we get some things early.)
“Remember when they cancelled all the good TV shows back around 1970? “
That was certainly part of it. There was a writer’s strike, I think in the eighties. No scripts could be written, so we ended up with “unscripted” reality tv. Scripts became so expensive that nobody could produce a show like Carol Burnett or Barny Miller. This increased cost had the same effect as $15/hr wages at McDonalds. The supplier to the TV viewing market simply shriveled up.
Television has never recovered. It is slowly becoming overrun by small suppliers with their own YouTube channels. Eventually, all of Hollywood will go under. How many remakes of Superman and CHIPS can the market take?
About time. Competition works for me.
Many retailers who go online suffer from ‘website overload’ and that includes Amazon.
They add so much clutter to their websites that it becomes too frustrating to find what one is looking for. The search results are atrocious. Click on price-low-to-high and you get a thousand items that have nothing to do with the original search.
Quit trying to snooker people with irrelevant offerings. Let them find what they are looking for quickly and easily, and sales will likely increase.
Customer-concentric, not programmer-concentric.
Our Von’s will deliver any size order for $9.95. When I was going through chemo it was a lifesaver. If you ordered in the morning you could schedule delivery for the afternoon. The delivery guy brings it all in and sets it on the counter. Bam! Then hubby would put it away.
I got so weak I could barely walk so was nice to just sit down in front of the computer and click away.
Their website is awful and buggy. And items like clothing are so poorly photographed. You can’t zoom in or see alternate views. I do love the ability to pay online and pick up in store. I work within walking distance of a Walmart, and with this option I can grab my items from Customer Service without waiting in a checkout line.
Exactly. Their website and search functions are horrible. Have been for years.
thanks. I shall go online and to the stores to investigate.
yeah another freeper told me that Walmart is cheaper. I am going to investigate because who doesn’t like to save a buck. ShopRite is pretty reasonable. No harm in checking it out though. no I don’t mind buying in bulk :)
I did something similar to this at Albertson’s in Seattle. At first, we didn’t have a car and it was very convenient to order online and have the food delivered. I rarely got something that was spoiled or that I hadn’t ordered.
When we got a car, we used the system where they select the food for you and have it waiting for pick up. I still didn’t drive then, and my son didn’t want to go grocery shopping, so it worked for me to order online and for him to take the car and pick up the groceries.
I order Walmart food for delivery to my elderly mother in another state. Usually there’s no problem, but the other week I got a bunch of emails saying my money would be refunded and the order cancelled. One email for each cancelled item and no other explanation.
I called up, and long story short, they have a short time for pick up at the distribution center and if the product isn’t there on time, they cancel the order. Wha??? I would have waited. They should have sent me an email letting me know what was up and asking if I were willing to wait.
Anyway, I had to order the groceries again; this time they were delivered as scheduled.
The new content providers are doing a great job and will continue to get better - NetFlix, now Amazon and shortly Apple. They’ve had a lot of dogs, but their winners are fantastic.
NetFlix - House of Cards, Narcos, Longmire (after acquiring it from A&E)
Amazon - The Man in the High Castle
Apple - TBD
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