Walmart Mobile Strategy Picks Up
Walmart made strides in moving commerce online, executives said on a fiscal Q4 earnings call (see here and here) Thursday, even as it said revenue and operating income fell in the quarter ended last month. Neil Ashe, CEO-global e-commerce, cited…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
efforts to offer consumers a “seamless shopping experience” across Walmart's app, website and stores. The company’s new Pangaea technology platform powered the shopping experience online for the first time this holiday season, said Ashe. Walmart offered early access to the Black Friday circular on the mobile app for the first time during the 2015 runup to Christmas, and the app reached No. 1 at Apple’s App Store that day, Ashe said, an indication customers “are now comfortable buying on their phone.” More than half of online sales were completed on a mobile device on Thanksgiving, doubling mobile sales over 2014, Ashe said. It had “significant growth” in mobile sales for the rest of the peak holiday period, he said. Walmart began testing Walmart Pay in “a small group of stores” during the quarter, said Ashe. Initial shopper feedback said the experience was “simple and easy,” he said. Walmart’s entertainment category continued to have “soft” wireless sales and a “slower adoption of new technology in televisions,” said Walmart U.S. CEO Greg Foran. The company's stock closed down Thursday 3 percent to $64.12.