No one thinks the internet is a fad at HQ and you have no basis for that. We just bought a 3 billion dollar online retailer and put their CEO in charge of Walmart.com and online strategy is a part of every weekly buyer meeting in the company.
No time in the near future will people not shop in person, the online market is under 10% and people like to shop in person.
Product prices will not rise with internal labor costs; our product flow is currently not optimized which adds a lot of labor that you do not see. As that changes those labor will shoft to the store floor and create a better customer experience. Combine that with procate brands (higher margin) and your overall margin will continue to drop.
If you think someone is far behind in any online business you are underestimating how quickly those things can turn around in a massive company with tens of thousands of people working on the problem.
> you are underestimating how quickly those things can turn around in a massive company with tens of thousands of people working on the problem
I know exactly how an aging, entrenched bureaucracy rewarded for in store sales will react to a new online bolt-on that will "steal" their sales. Ongoing sabotage that cripples the upstart. Very few companies can make transitions like this where a new part of the company must cannibalize the old. Walmart has shown no evidence of even recognizing the kind of transformation they need to make.
>The survey, now in its fifth year, polled more than 5,000 consumers who make at least two online purchases in a three-month period. According to results, shoppers now make 51% of their purchases online, compared to 48% in 2015 and 47% in 2014.
1. They're only polling people who make online purchases.
These innovations are not widely publicized. Perhaps it would be beneficial to all if people could learn about new innovation at Walmart as easily as they can about Amazons. I wonder why the two are different in that department?
Amazon, by virtue of their newer business model and high growth, is a naturally good candidate for a news story. Most journalists are going to report about things that readers are interested in. Readers are interested in hearing established narratives that connect dots together and confirm their world view.
