Walmart Doubles Down on Mobile, Online Commerce

January 16, 2018         By: Steven Anderson

If anyone out there believed that Walmart wasn’t pursuing mobile with sufficient fervor, then man, do I have news for you. Walmart is effectively doubling down on its mobile and online operations, and demonstrated as much with a series of recent moves.

Not only is Walmart stepping up its mobile checkout operations—100 more stores will have access to the system—but it’s also fundamentally changed several of its operations to accommodate mobile. It’s shut down fully 63 Sam’s Club stores, about 10 of which are set to be turned into online distribution operations. Though current employees at the soon-to-be-closed stores aren’t guaranteed new employment with the regional distribution centers, it’s likely a safe bet that at least some employees will stay on.

Meanwhile, the expanded Mobile Express Scan & Go app that will be hitting more Walmarts soon allows customers to use mobile devices like a checkout lane, scanning and bagging items in their carts as they go, and paying for their items from the same interface. There’s even a special Mobile Express lane for customers to use in exiting the store.

That wasn’t all Walmart did—though it would have been enough for most anyone—as it also addressed some issues of employee compensation. It offered not only a higher starting wage for hourly associates, but also offered expanded maternity leave, parental leave, direct cash incentives in adoption support and a one-time bonus to hourly associates between $200 and $1,000 depending on how long employees had been with the company.

It’s clear that Walmart’s had a lot going on lately, and much of it in advance of an increasingly online world when it comes to retail. Shuttering redundant Sam’s Club locations does help, and by converting some to distribution centers, Walmart can take advantage of the warehouse-style nature of a Sam’s Club by making it into an actual warehouse. If Walmart could get in on drone delivery—which it was actually looking to do not so long ago—it would be the icing on the cake.

Walmart’s push into more mobile may not be welcome everywhere, but for those who were craving more mobile from Walmart, it’s here, in a big way.