walmart marketing strategy case study

Walmart Marketing Strategy 2024: A Case Study

Walmart, a leading multinational retail corporation, has established its position in the fiercely competitive retail market through a carefully crafted marketing strategy. By focusing on convenience and affordability, Walmart brings value to its target audience of low to middle-class rural families. With over 10,000 stores across 24 countries, Walmart’s extensive retail network showcases its reach and influence in the industry.

Key Takeaways:

• Walmart strategically targets low to middle-class rural families, providing them with convenience and competitive pricing.
• Market segmentation helps Walmart cater to different customer groups, ensuring their diverse needs are met.
• The strategic placement of Walmart stores enables easy accessibility for customers worldwide.
• Walmart’s pricing strategy plays a significant role in its success, allowing for better supplier negotiations and increased profitability.
• With a wide range of products, including its own brand offerings, Walmart maintains variety and affordability for customers.

Walmart’s Target Audience and Market Segmentation

Walmart, one of the largest retailers globally, caters to a diverse target audience , with a particular emphasis on the generation X (young consumers) for long-term loyalty. The company’s marketing strategy for 2024 centers around targeting young consumers and integrating social media marketing for effective communication. Millennials, in particular, have shown a preference for Walmart over competitors like Target, Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods in North America.

To reach millennials effectively, Walmart has shifted its focus from print advertising to mobile targeting. This move aligns with millennials’ preferences and behaviors, as they are more likely to engage with brands through digital platforms. The company’s strong presence on social media platforms allows it to connect with its target audience and create meaningful interactions.

Market segmentation plays a crucial role in Walmart’s approach to marketing. By understanding its shoppers better, the company can tailor its campaigns to different customer groups. This segmentation takes into account factors such as age, income level, geographical location, and shopping behaviors. By catering to the specific needs and preferences of diverse customer segments, Walmart ensures customer satisfaction, loyalty, and a strong market position.

With nearly 11,000 stores worldwide and annual revenues of around $570 billion, Walmart is a retail giant. Approximately 40% of Walmart’s product offerings are private labels, providing customers with accessible and affordable options. The company emphasizes efficient deliveries within 24 hours through decentralized distribution centers and strategic store positioning. Walmart’s vast network of distribution centers ensures a steady flow of merchandise, enabling timely and convenient shopping for its customers.

Walmart’s Target Audience

Walmart’s target audience primarily consists of low to middle-class families in rural areas. These customers are looking for good deals, convenience, and a comprehensive one-stop shopping experience . Walmart’s pricing strategy, which frequently includes temporary price reductions or “rollbacks” on selected items, attracts customers seeking value for their money. Moreover, Walmart’s price-matching policy allows customers to compare prices from competitors, ensuring they receive the lowest price available.

The company conducts extensive market research to gain insights into consumer trends, preferences, and demands. Walmart regularly gathers feedback from customers through surveys, identifying areas for improvement and understanding customer satisfaction levels. Leveraging advanced data analytics tools, Walmart creates personalized offers and promotions for its customers, enhancing their shopping experience and fostering loyalty.

Market Segmentation

Walmart’s market segmentation strategy allows the company to create targeted marketing campaigns that resonate with specific customer groups. This segmentation helps Walmart understand the diverse needs and preferences of its customers, enabling the company to provide tailored shopping experiences. By strategically organizing products on shelves, Walmart enhances discoverability and optimizes sales through category management.

Walmart’s emphasis on sustainability and environmental initiatives also aligns with consumer concerns about responsible corporate behavior. By investing in sustainability and supporting charitable organizations and causes through financial donations and in-kind contributions, Walmart cultivates positive associations with its brand. Additionally, Walmart sponsors local events and activities to showcase its dedication to the community, further enhancing its relationship with its target audience.

Overall, Walmart’s target audience and market segmentation approach demonstrate the company’s commitment to understanding its customers’ needs and providing them with a convenient, value-driven shopping experience.

The Importance of Price in Walmart’s Competitive Advantage

Price plays a crucial role in Walmart’s competitive advantage. The company has established itself as a low-cost provider, offering customers affordable prices on a wide range of products. Walmart’s pricing strategy is built upon key principles that enable it to maintain its competitive edge in the market.

Everyday Low Prices (EDLP)

Since its founding in 1962, Walmart has consistently applied the Everyday Low Price (EDLP) strategy in its pricing. This strategy involves offering customers consistently low prices on products without the need for frequent promotions or discounts. By implementing EDLP, Walmart aims to build customer trust and loyalty while attracting price-sensitive consumers.

Walmart leverages its size for efficiency and economies of scale to negotiate lower prices from suppliers. Its strong supply chain management and bargaining power allow the company to keep costs low and maintain competitive pricing.

Rollback Pricing and Price Matching

In addition to EDLP, Walmart utilizes rollback pricing as a promotional strategy. Rollback prices are temporary reductions in the prices of selected items, providing customers with additional savings.

Furthermore, Walmart offers price matching both in-store and online. This means that if customers find a lower price for an identical item at a competitor’s store, Walmart will match that price, ensuring that customers receive the best deal available.

Associate Discount Card

Walmart provides its associates with an Associate Discount Card, which offers up to 10% off all items. This discount not only serves as an employee benefit but also contributes to Walmart’s competitive advantage by reducing prices for its own staff and creating a positive work environment.

By employing these pricing strategies, Walmart aims to undercut competitors’ prices and provide customers with the best possible value for their money. This focus on affordability has helped Walmart maintain its position as a market leader in the retail industry.

Overall, Walmart’s pricing strategy plays a crucial role in its competitive advantage. By offering everyday low prices, providing promotional discounts, and implementing price matching policies, Walmart attracts price-conscious consumers and builds customer loyalty. This pricing approach, combined with efficient supply chain management and economies of scale, allows Walmart to deliver quality products at affordable prices, further solidifying its position in the market .

Product Marketing at Walmart

Walmart, with its extensive product range and customer-centric approach, has established itself as one of the largest retailers in the world. With over 10,500 stores in 20 countries, the brand caters to a diverse range of customers, including value-conscious consumers, families, online shoppers, small business owners, and rural and suburban communities.

Walmart’s product strategy revolves around meeting customer needs and preferences by offering a wide range of products in various categories, such as electronics, movies, music, books, pharmacy, beauty, and home improvement. The company conducts in-depth market research and stays updated with consumer trends to ensure its product range is relevant and appealing.

One of Walmart’s key strengths in product marketing is its ability to buy in bulk, allowing the company to keep prices low while maintaining a high-quality assortment. This pricing strategy, combined with a universal SKU system and diversified product offerings, attracts price-conscious customers and promotes personalized promotions.

When marketing its products, Walmart emphasizes customer service, increased sales volume, competitive advantage, and convenience. The brand’s marketing campaigns focus on human connection and helping customers live better, creating a sense of trust and loyalty.

Walmart’s marketing efforts are comprehensive and include various channels and tactics. The brand utilizes targeted advertising campaigns, promotions, and discounts to drive customer awareness and engagement. By leveraging its wide customer base and authority in the market, Walmart provides retailers and sellers with a platform to reach millions of potential customers through its online marketplace, Walmart Marketplace.

The Walmart Marketplace, launched in 2009, has become one of the top marketplaces for retailers to sell their products. Sellers benefit from the marketplace’s wide customer base, high trust and authority, no regular fees, and detailed analytic reports. However, it’s important to consider the cons as well, which include limited international reach, fixed price requirements, and potential listing problems.

Overall, Walmart’s product marketing strategies focus on offering a diverse range of products, maintaining low prices, and providing exceptional customer service. By aligning with Walmart’s customer-centric approach and utilizing the opportunities presented by platforms like Walmart Marketplace, businesses can tap into Walmart’s vast customer base and drive sales and growth.

Walmart’s Store Location Strategy

Walmart’s success can be attributed, in part, to its strategic store location strategy. Understanding the importance of convenience for customers, the company strategically places its stores in busy areas and regions with a high concentration of potential shoppers.

With over 10,500 Walmart stores worldwide, the company caters to approximately 240 million customers and members each week across 20 countries. By providing easily accessible store locations, Walmart ensures that customers have convenient options for their shopping needs.

In addition to physical stores, Walmart has also invested in its online platform, offering customers the choice to shop in the most convenient way for them. The company’s eCommerce websites complement its extensive network of physical stores, providing a seamless and omnichannel shopping experience.

Walmart’s store location strategy extends beyond customer convenience. The company’s vast network of distribution centers, consisting of 210 facilities, supports efficient order fulfillment and product delivery to stores, clubs, and direct customers. Each distribution center employs over 600 personnel and ships over 200 trailers daily, ensuring a reliable and timely flow of products.

Furthermore, Walmart’s transportation fleet, consisting of 9,000 tractors, 80,000 trailers, and over 11,000 drivers, plays a crucial role in connecting distribution centers with stores and customers. The fleet covers an impressive 1.1 billion miles annually, providing Walmart with the ability to meet customer demands efficiently.

Walmart’s commitment to strategically located fulfillment centers further enhances its store location strategy. These centers ensure quick and highly efficient access to customers, allowing for prompt order processing and delivery. With specific designs tailored to their locations, including the ability to withstand wind speeds of up to 120 mph in hurricane-prone areas, Walmart’s fulfillment centers optimize operations and customer satisfaction.

Walmart’s store location strategy is a testament to the company’s commitment to providing convenient and accessible shopping options for its customers. By strategically positioning its stores, investing in fulfillment and distribution centers, and maintaining an efficient transportation fleet, Walmart continues to meet the diverse needs of its customers while ensuring a seamless shopping experience.

Walmart’s Brand Positioning and Differentiation

Walmart, the retail giant, has successfully positioned itself as a trusted brand that offers low prices without compromising quality. With a motto of “We Sell For Less – 20% less than the competition,” Walmart has continuously focused on providing the best value to its customers.

One of Walmart’s key competitive advantages lies in its pricing strategy. The company leverages its buying power with major suppliers to negotiate lower prices, allowing them to pass on the savings to customers. This approach has enabled Walmart to attract a large customer base that seeks affordability. By consistently offering competitive prices, Walmart has cemented its position as a go-to destination for budget-conscious shoppers.

In addition to its pricing strategy, Walmart differentiates itself through its customer-centric services. The company’s commitment to friendly service, convenient hours, and a pleasant shopping experience has contributed to building strong customer loyalty. Walmart also offers a wide assortment of good quality merchandise across various categories, meeting the diverse needs of its customers.

Walmart’s dedication to customer satisfaction extends beyond the purchase. The company has implemented flexible return policies and reliable warranties, ensuring that customers feel confident in their purchases. These value-added services further strengthen Walmart’s brand reputation and differentiate it from its competitors.

Walmart’s brand positioning and differentiation have translated into exceptional financial performance. In 2016 alone, Walmart generated an impressive revenue of $482 billion, serving more than 26 billion customers weekly through its vast network of 11,000 stores in 28 countries.

Operating in 27 countries globally, Walmart has solidified its position as a leader in the retail industry. Forbes ranked Walmart 15th in its list of top 2000 companies and 22nd in the list of the world’s most valuable brands.

Walmart’s global expansion strategy, which began in 1991, has played a crucial role in its brand positioning and growth. By crossing the border into Mexico, entering markets such as Brazil, Argentina, and China, and forming strategic partnerships, Walmart has effectively leveraged its domestic resources, including buying power, store management expertise, technology, logistics, and merchandising know-how, to drive its international operations.

In conclusion, Walmart’s brand positioning is centered around offering competitive prices, a wide range of high-quality merchandise, friendly service, and a pleasant shopping experience. Its commitment to customer satisfaction, along with its global expansion strategy, has helped Walmart differentiate itself from competitors and maintain its position as a retail industry leader.

Walmart’s Use of Social Media and Influencer Marketing

Walmart recognizes the power of social media and influencer marketing in reaching and engaging with its customers. With its massive reach, serving 90% of U.S. households and employing over 1.5 million associates nationwide, Walmart utilizes various social media platforms to promote its products and services.

One of the strategies employed by Walmart is the use of affiliate links on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. By collaborating with influencers, Walmart leverages their platforms to showcase its products to a wider audience. Through these partnerships, influencers can earn commissions when customers make purchases through their content, enabling a mutually beneficial relationship.

To further enhance its social media presence and increase its marketing effectiveness , Walmart has filed trademarks related to “Walmart Creator.” This suggests that the company has plans to launch a digital platform that will connect social media influencers with its products. This platform, called Walmart Creator, will provide creators access to tens of thousands of products available at Walmart. Creators will have the opportunity to monetize their content by referring sales through the platform, offering them unlimited revenue potential.

With this upcoming platform, Walmart aims to capitalize on the growing influencer marketing industry, which is projected to be worth $16.4 billion in 2022. By leveraging the reach and influence of content creators, Walmart can effectively promote its products and services to a wide range of audiences.

Walmart’s commitment to social media and influencer marketing is evident not only in its collaboration with individual influencers but also in its plans to launch Walmart Creator and Walmart Creator Collective. These initiatives highlight Walmart’s dedication to leveraging influencer marketing and utilizing social media to its fullest potential.

Through its social media and influencer marketing efforts, Walmart aims to connect with customers in a more interactive and engaging way. By harnessing the power of social media platforms and influencers, Walmart can effectively reach and resonate with its target audience.

Walmart’s Social Media and Influencer Marketing Statistics

These statistics highlight the significance of social media and influencer marketing in driving revenue and growth for Walmart. With its strategic approach, Walmart continues to expand its reach, engage customers, and position itself as a leader in the retail industry.

Walmart Connect Advertising Platform

Walmart Connect is an integral part of Walmart’s advertising strategy, offering businesses a platform to reach a vast customer base and maximize their brand exposure. With a focus on enhancing eCommerce growth, Walmart Connect has experienced a remarkable 22% increase in eCommerce sales in FY24 alone.

By utilizing customer behavior data, Walmart Connect allows businesses to target their advertisements with precision, reaching the right audience at the right time. During peak seasons, 40% of orders on the Walmart platform include items from small and mid-sized businesses, highlighting the importance of advertising partnerships through Walmart Connect.

In FY24, Walmart Connect’s U.S. ad sales surged by 22%, with over 50% of these sales coming from Marketplace sellers. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the platform in driving revenue and attracting new customers.

Marketplace sellers who advertise on Walmart Connect also benefit from a strong return on ad spend (ROAS) of 4:1 on average. This means that for every dollar spent on advertising, sellers can expect to see a return of four dollars, making Walmart Connect a compelling platform for businesses looking to maximize their advertising investments.

With 90% of American households shopping at Walmart, businesses gain access to a vast customer base, providing unparalleled opportunities for growth and brand exposure. As the number one retail leader and the second-largest eCommerce platform in the U.S., Walmart Connect offers a robust advertising solution for businesses of all sizes.

Through Walmart Connect, advertisers have access to a range of advertising programs, including Sponsored Search ads, Display ads, and In-store displays. Sponsored Search advertising encompasses various types of ads, such as Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Products, and Sponsored Videos, offering increased visibility and charging only when customers click on the ads.

To support businesses at different stages of advertising, Walmart Connect provides resources such as the Small Business Hub and the Walmart Connect Academy. The Small Business Hub offers valuable tools and guidance, while the Walmart Connect Academy provides Ad Certification courses to educate and empower advertisers to become proficient in the platform.

With Walmart’s global ad revenue growing by 28% in the past year, totaling $3.4 billion, the platform continues to deliver highly effective advertising solutions. As businesses increasingly recognize the value of advertising on Walmart Connect, 24% of brands have increased their investment, solidifying Walmart’s position as a leading advertising platform.

Looking toward the future, Walmart’s CEO, Doug McMillon, predicts that global advertising and membership will represent 20% of the company’s annual operating income by the next financial year, emphasizing the importance of advertising partnerships and the continued growth of Walmart Connect.

Walmart’s Strategic Partnerships

Walmart recognizes the significance of strategic partnerships in its quest to enhance customer experiences and expand its market presence. By collaborating with industry leaders, Walmart leverages the strengths of its partners to deliver innovative solutions and acquire new customer segments.

One notable partnership that Walmart has formed is with Roku, America’s leading TV streaming platform . This collaboration allows Walmart to tap into Roku’s extensive user base and engage with customers through targeted advertisements. During a pilot period, shoppable ads on Roku generated significantly higher clickthrough rates compared to average video campaigns , showcasing the effectiveness of this partnership.

Furthermore, Walmart’s strategic partnerships extend beyond the realm of advertising. The retailer has joined forces with Instacart, Shopify, TikTok, FedEx, Home Depot, and Netflix, among others. These collaborations enable Walmart to provide services like same-day delivery, enhanced access to small and medium-sized brands, hassle-free returns, expanded capabilities in the home category, and leveraging fandoms to promote merchandise.

Through partnerships, Walmart Connect, Walmart’s advertising platform, offers suppliers and sellers experimental opportunities to connect with customers. Advertisers can leverage Walmart’s first-party omnichannel data to achieve measurable sales performance, ensuring effective targeting and optimization of their campaigns.

Strategic partnerships benefit not only large enterprises like Walmart but also small businesses with limited offerings. Marketing partnerships allow these businesses to expand their reach and benefit from Walmart’s established brand presence and marketing expertise.

Moreover, strategic supply chain partnerships play a crucial role in Walmart’s operations. By collaborating with larger firms that can provide capital and smaller ones offering specialized expertise, Walmart optimizes its supply chain to deliver products more efficiently and at competitive prices.

While the material does not provide specific details about Walmart’s strategic partnerships, it emphasizes the company’s commitment to exploring new formats and channels to engage customers effectively [7] .

Walmart’s Exploration of Virtual Reality and the Metaverse

While Walmart continues to innovate and explore new technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) and the metaverse, its current focus lies primarily in providing a seamless online shopping experience that meets customer expectations. Although VR shopping may seem like an intriguing concept, Walmart prioritizes practicality and convenience over adopting trendy initiatives like the Metaverse.

Walmart operates over 4,000 brick-and-mortar stores across the United States, and it recognizes the importance of catering to its diverse customer base. The average Walmart shopper is identified as a white female Baby Boomer, representing a significant portion of the market.

To bolster its online presence, Walmart has established a team of influencers with a combined social media following of over 11 million, particularly on platforms like TikTok. Leveraging their influence, Walmart collaborates with these influencers to promote its products and engage with a wider audience.

In line with social media trends, Walmart Realm offers around one hundred products curated by influencers and inspired by social trends. These products are easily accessible and attractively priced, with most items priced under $50. For instance, customers can find affordable faux pearl earrings for $3.88, while the most expensive item, a white boucle sofa, is priced at $800.

Walmart Realm also incorporates engaging features, like a Tetris-inspired mini-game called “Go Chromatic,” which offers participants a chance to win a $100 sweepstake. Users can collect tokens shaped like Walmart’s iconic yellow star logo while navigating Walmart Realm, earning rewards such as a 20% off coupon.

By exploring virtual reality and the metaverse, Walmart taps into the potential of this emerging market segment . The total market for metaverse-related commercial activity is projected to reach between $8 trillion and $13 trillion by 2030, with an estimated five billion metaverse users. Virtual worlds and games are expected to be the fastest-growing category of entertainment, attracting three billion participants from various geographies and demographics.

Despite Walmart’s exploration of virtual reality on platforms like Roblox, the company’s immersive experiences in this space do not currently generate revenue. However, the potential for future monetization through brand partnerships or driving real-world store visits remains a possibility.

Walmart’s commitment to innovation and engaging with its customers is exemplified through its upcoming virtual concert, “Electric Fest,” to be held in October on Walmart Land. The event will feature popular artists such as Madison Beer, Kane Brown, and Yungblud, further establishing Walmart’s presence in the virtual realm.

Other retailers, including Ralph Lauren, PacSun, and Vans, have recognized the value of the virtual space and have also entered Roblox to engage with users. Successful brand experiences, such as Nikeland and Gucci Garden, have been highlighted as top destinations for Roblox users aged 17 and older, showcasing the potential for diverse brand engagement within virtual environments.

In conclusion, while Walmart remains open to exploring technologies like virtual reality and the metaverse, its current focus is on providing a seamless online shopping experience for its diverse customer base. Walmart recognizes the potential of virtual reality and the metaverse but prioritizes practicality and meeting customer expectations in the present market landscape.

Walmart’s Continued Success and Future Outlook

Walmart’s journey in the retail industry has been marked by remarkable achievements and a solid position in the market. Despite trailing behind Amazon substantially in the e-commerce component, Walmart has successfully maintained its status as the largest grocery seller in the United States, surpassing top supermarkets like The Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. With a focus on reshaping its digital business model, Walmart is leveraging its strengths while adapting to the evolving retail landscape.

In 2023, Walmart reported a 6.7% rise in total revenue, amounting to a whopping $611.3 billion. This growth can be attributed to Walmart’s strategic efforts in combining traditional retail profits with elements such as e-commerce, membership programs, advertising, and data monetization. By integrating these aspects, Walmart aims to offer a seamless omnichannel experience that meets the needs of its diverse customer base.

Recognizing the importance of a strong physical presence, Walmart plans to remodel 650 of its namesake stores and Sam’s Clubs across the United States. This initiative reinforces Walmart’s commitment to strengthening its brick-and-mortar operations while building a more compelling online business. Despite Amazon’s dominance in the e-commerce realm, Walmart is determined to leverage its existing physical stores and clubs under an omnichannel strategy.

To support its dedication to providing exceptional customer experiences, Walmart is investing in its employees. Store managers’ salaries have seen a significant increase, averaging $128,000 per year, up from $117,000. Supercenter managers who meet targets can receive a maximum bonus equal to 200% of their base salary, reflecting Walmart’s commitment to recognizing and rewarding performance.

Walmart is also focused on empowering its store-level employees through various initiatives. The company announced a three-for-one stock split, aiming to make stock purchase prices more accessible for employees. Additionally, $20,000 in annual stock grants were added to managers’ compensation packages. These initiatives not only enhance employee satisfaction but also align employee interests with the company’s success.

Looking ahead, Walmart has exciting plans for the future. The company aims to remodel 650 stores in 47 states and Puerto Rico over the next 12 months, ensuring a fresh and modern shopping experience for customers. Additionally, Walmart plans to build or convert over 150 new locations in the next five years, further expanding its reach.

Walmart’s future success also lies in its commitment to innovation and technology. The company has announced a $500 million investment in remodeling 117 stores, focusing on enhancing the customer experience and integrating cutting-edge technologies. Walmart’s expansion of drone delivery to nearly two million more households in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is just one example of its dedication to leveraging emerging technologies to improve efficiency and convenience for customers.

As the retail landscape continues to evolve, Walmart remains at the forefront, constantly adapting and strategizing to meet the needs of its customers. With its vast workforce, solid financial position, and commitment to innovation, Walmart is well-positioned to thrive in the competitive retail landscape and shape the future of the industry.

Walmart’s marketing strategy has played a crucial role in establishing its position as a global powerhouse in the retail industry. With over 11,000 stores operating worldwide under different banners, Walmart has showcased its extensive presence and influence.

The company’s everyday low prices (EDLP) strategy has been integral to its marketing approach, attracting cost-conscious consumers and fostering loyalty. By seamlessly integrating physical stores and e-commerce platforms, Walmart has successfully met modern consumer preferences for convenience and choice through omnichannel retailing.

Moreover, Walmart’s commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) goes beyond being a mere PR tactic—it is a core component of its marketing strategy. This emphasis on environmental and social consciousness resonates well with customers who appreciate brands that prioritize these values.

In addition, Walmart recognizes the importance of localized marketing and tailoring its strategies to engage customers in different regions. This approach of understanding cultural nuances and consumer behavior has proven to be highly effective for a company with a global presence.

Overall, Walmart’s success can be attributed to its innovative and adaptable nature. By continuously evolving and staying ahead of changing consumer preferences and market dynamics, Walmart has emerged as a leader in the competitive retail marketplace. As the company focuses on its core strengths and customer-centric approach, its future outlook remains promising.

What is Walmart’s target audience?

How does walmart use market segmentation, what is the importance of price in walmart’s competitive advantage, how does walmart promote its products, what is walmart’s store location strategy, how does walmart differentiate itself from its competitors, how does walmart use social media and influencer marketing, what is walmart connect, who are walmart’s strategic partners, what is walmart’s approach to virtual reality and the metaverse, what has contributed to walmart’s continued success in the retail sector, what is the future outlook for walmart’s marketing strategy, related posts:.

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Nina Sheridan is a seasoned author at Latterly.org, a blog renowned for its insightful exploration of the increasingly interconnected worlds of business, technology, and lifestyle. With a keen eye for the dynamic interplay between these sectors, Nina brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her writing. Her expertise lies in dissecting complex topics and presenting them in an accessible, engaging manner that resonates with a diverse audience.

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Walmart Marketing Strategy: How Walmart became the biggest retailer in the world!

Let's learn about the marketing strategies that walmart used to become one of the biggest retailers in the world..

• overview#goto" data-overview-topic-param="brief">A brief overview
• overview#goto" data-overview-topic-param="mix">Walmart's marketing mix?
• overview#goto" data-overview-topic-param="international">Walmart's international markets strategy
• overview#goto" data-overview-topic-param="takeaways">Key takeaways for your retail business

Walmart is one of the biggest retailers and among go-to retail stores for one's household shopping. Known for its lowest prices and cost savings across product categories , a visit to its physical stores is an experience in itself.

While a lot of its success is attributed to its intensive distribution strategy, its marketing mix also plays a key role in making it an everyday store for everyone.

In this marketing strategy case study, we will study Walmart marketing strategy that made it a retail business that generates USD 567 billion worth sales volume.

A brief overview of Walmart's retail business

Sam Walton, founded the first store in 1945, and since then, 10,593   Walmart stores have flourished across the world. Even today, Walmart is majorly controlled and run as a Walton family business. Walmart employs 2,300,000 US workers alone, making it the largest employer in United States .

Its retail stores house a huge variety of product categories at very low prices ranging from office supplies, cell phones, music videos, or even cooling equipment.

Today, it successfully delivers an omni-channel experience for Walmart customers via its intensive distribution channel design.

Some of its major business model channels include:

Physical store sales - makes up to 9.26% of net sales across its 10,500 Walmart stores.

e-Commerce store sales - Sam's club, a membership-only warehouse club, and other channels like Walmart International and Walmart US helps Walmart keep a digital presence and attract customers who prefer online shopping.

Subscription - Walmart+ subscription services started in response to the pandemic that includes unlimited free shipping and direct deliveries from any Walmart store. There are around 11 million Walmart subscribers as of 2022.

Advertising - Walmart Connect helps retail the business reach out to both online and Walmart store customers.

The entire Walmart marketing mix revolves around these bulk sales enabled business model.

Let's explore Walmart's marketing strategy in detail.

What is Walmart's marketing mix?

Strategy of Walmart is to enable its customers to save money across product categories via high sales volume approach. To ensure higher sales and maintain lowest price, Walmart uses tons of sales promotions tactics at large scale.

The design of Walmart marketing mix is influenced by its cost leadership strategy.

Here's how it works.

Walmart's pricing strategy to become the lowest price store

Inventory management with efficient supply chain and a highly customer centric approach helps Walmart sell its products at lower prices. For the same, it uses the following pricing strategy:

Everyday Low Prices (EDLP) - control the sale price of the goods sold to maintain low prices on a consistent basis

Everyday low cost (EDLC) - control the expenses such that you can pass on the savings to the Walmart customer

Image Source - CNBC

These tactics enable Walmart to maintain low prices in the hope that the bulk sales volume and high ticket products would make it beyond breakeven. A diversified product strategy also helps Walmart offer everyday low price such that complimentary products are bundled for higher sales.

This is further supported by an efficient supply chain management system that comprises of barcodes, Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) system and implementation of modern distribution strategy.

Walmart's Placement or Distribution strategy

Walmart outlet selects its store location such that its central for people to access. Their 150+ distribution centers are also strategically placed for easier procurement and logistics management.

Walmart also has heavy physical evidence. They have 3 types of stores namely - Walmart Supercenters, Walmart Discount Stores and Walmart Express Stores that cater to locations based on population density and typical purchase intent of customers. Their physical evidence is also characterised by multiple offices across the world for any corporate or customer support.

Walmart also uses state-of-the-art IT systems to track shipments and deliveries. They also deploy strong logistics facilities via its fleet of trucks to ensure timely delivery of goods.

Apart from an intensive supply chain management for in-store experience, Walmart also taps into the online shopping space via its powerful e-commerce platform.

It's e-commerce store is well integrated with its distribution centers that helps customers avail the Walmart experience without visiting the physical store.

Walmart's Sales Promotions marketing strategy

Walmart marketing is extensive and uses tons of Point of Purchase ( POP Marketing Strategy ) and Point of Sale (POS Marketing Strategy) tactics to ensure customers add more purchases to their shopping carts.

Otherwise, usual marketing strategies like TV commercials, billboard advertisements, press releases or public relations form a significant part of Walmart marketing mix budget.

Walmart offers many promotions across the year via package deals, discounts and freebies. They adopt personal selling techniques in their stores like guiding customers, offering product samples, trial options, etc to provide a better buying experience.

Image Source - Yahoo Finance

Usage of slogans, with their iconic tagline 'save money, live better' also helps with the brand strategy of Walmart. Banners and displays that convey 'low prices' sentiments motivate the customers further into impulsive purchases.

Walmart's Product strategy

While Walmart cannot control much about the products sold via its online and physical stores, what it can truly control is the customer experience. The Walmart employees in the stores are well trained to ensure they can guide the customers to what they are looking for and might require.

They are selective about the products allowed in their store and ensure every product category has multiple options for customers to choose from. They need to comply with their pricing strategies and quality assessments. Walmart purchases these products in bulk rates, thus leveraging economies of scale.

Just like Amazon, they too sell their own Walmart branded products to improve revenue margins.

Image Source - Branding Strategy Insider

Walmart's target audience

Walmart's target audience comprises general lower to upper middle class families and individuals looking to save money on their grocery shopping expenses. This customer segment is price sensitive, and hence requires an extensive marketing strategy that builds trust and consistency in store experience. One of the ways to build this trust is via its strong replacement policies, reliable warranties and even personal selling.

Walmart's business strategy to adapt to international markets

Walmart expanded to the international markets by various combination of localisation, digital marketing campaigns and adaptive mindset.

Some noteworthy Walmart marketing strategy and business tactics used in international waters include:

Going local

China is a big market for retail companies because it is the most populous nation in the world. But merely replicating Walmart's American DNA would be ineffective in expanding to international markets with heavy local influence.

Image Source - Business Insider

To capture the Chinese market, Walmart reduced their product bundle portions, moving away from the bulk buying behaviour. Walmart marketing strategy in China included digital marketing campaigns in local languages influenced by local pop culture to become more relevant to the Chinese customers.

Acquisitions of local players

The USD 16 billion worth acquisition of Flipkart, a local e-commerce giant in India, was heavily celebrated and discussed in the Indian business ecosystem. To enter the Indian market, Walmart chose to acquire a leading local player rather than competing in unknown territories.

Image Source - The Indian Express

Flipkart has already built a brand via its various digital marketing campaigns and promotional strategies. Today, Walmart simply has to plug their own experience of running a retail business and scale its efforts to dominate Indian retail market.

Walmart used a similar strategy in Germany, where it acquired the retail chain Wertkauf hypermarket, a leading family business run by the Mann family.

Replicating Walmart's corporate DNA

A good aspect about Walmart's marketing strategy is how its core value of keeping prices low is replicable across nations. Of course, one has to localise and adapt to culture. But one can buildd systems around Walmart marketing strategy and business operations to enter new markets.

Key takeaways and marketing strategies for your retail business

Walmart's marketing strategy gives great lessons for entrepreneurs building businesses that are heavily banking on innovative pricing strategies.

Here are some key lessons you can adopt from Walmart marketing mix.

Adapt when required

Walmart was an offline-store business for a long time. Due to the pandemic, they had to focus on their online e-commerce store due to lockdowns. In international markets too, they adapted to local markets and customer behaviour as required.

Make your company values visible

Walmart marketing mix ensures that customers (who always expect lower prices) are shown necessary promotions to save money. Their slogans are repeated across the stores to maintain this brand identity of being a low cost retail store.

Ensure a strong backend

A key strategy of Walmart includes investing heavily on its distribution network and logistics. A lot of resources are deployed to find the most efficient routes, keeping goods intact and ensuring timely deliveries.

Ensure supply quality

Walmart is very strict with their supplier entry and products showcased in their stores. They invest to ensure their customers get the right products in the right condition.

Explore different business models

Walmart has implemented various possible revenue models that a business can adopt. This include subscription, advertising, running clubs, bulk selling, etc. They are not shy to experiment.

Enjoyed reading Walmart's marketing mix? Check out other marketing mix case studies for brands like Red Bull , Zomato , Tesla and many more.

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Walmart Business Strategy: A Comprehensive Analysis

By   Julie Choo

Published: January 5, 2024

Last Update: January 5, 2024

TOPICS:   Service Design

In the dynamic landscape of retail, Walmart stands as a behemoth, shaping the industry with its innovative business strategies . This article delves into the core of Walmart’s success, unraveling its business strategy and digital transformation from top to bottom.

Walmart Business Strategy

Walmart’s business strategy is a well-crafted tapestry that combines a variety of elements to secure its position as a retail giant. At the heart of this strategy lies a robust operating model approach that encompasses a diverse range of channels and tactics. 

Transition to An OmniChannel Marketplace

The Walmart business strategy includes leveraging its vast physical presence through an extensive network of stores, drawing customers in with the promise of Everyday Low Prices (EDLP). This commitment to affordability is not just a slogan; it’s a cornerstone of Walmart’s marketing ethos, shaping consumer perceptions and driving foot traffic to its brick-and-mortar locations.

Building Strength via its Emerging Digital Operating Model

Walmart’s business business strategy extends beyond traditional advertising methods and its strength is in its operational strategy where it is charging ahead with digital transformation to become a more complete Omnichannel Marketplace to combat competitors such as Amazon. The retail giant has embraced the digital era, utilizing online platforms and e-commerce to reach a broader audience. Part of this digital evolution involves the strategic placement of distribution and fulfillment centers , ensuring efficient order processing and timely deliveries. By strategically integrating distribution and fulfillment centers into its operating model , Walmart maximizes operational efficiency, meeting customer demands swiftly and solidifying its reputation for reliability in the competitive retail landscape.

In essence, Walmart’s holistic digital operating model backed by a evolving digital transformation  strategy, encompassing physical stores, online presence, and strategically placed distribution hubs, reflects a dynamic and adaptive approach to consumer engagement and satisfaction. 

Walmart’s Existing Business Model Before Digital Transformation

Walmart’s retail business .

Walmart stores, comprising a vast network of discount stores and clubs, serve as the backbone of the retail giant’s physical presence. Walmart’s store format, ranging from neighborhood discount stores to expansive membership-based clubs, caters to a diverse customer base. These Walmart stores are strategically positioned to provide accessibility to a wide demographic, offering a one-stop shopping experience.

The discount stores, characterized by their commitment to Everyday Low Prices (EDLP), have become synonymous with affordability, attracting budget-conscious consumers. Simultaneously, Walmart clubs offer a membership-based model, providing additional benefits and exclusive deals. The amalgamation of these store formats under the Walmart umbrella showcases the company’s versatility, catering to the varied needs and preferences of consumers across different communities and demographics.

Walmart Pricing Strategy

Pricing strategy.

Walmart’s pricing strategy and its competitive advantage are substantiated by reputable sources in the retail industry. The pricing index data, indicating that Walmart’s prices are, on average, 10% lower than its competitors, comes from a comprehensive market analysis conducted by Retail Insight, a leading research firm specializing in retail trends and pricing dynamics.

Everyday Low Prices

Walmart’s success in the retail sector can be attributed to its commitment to Low Price Leadership, a strategic approach that revolves around providing customers with unbeatable prices. Leveraging Economies of Scale, Walmart capitalizes on its vast size and purchasing power to negotiate favorable deals with suppliers, enabling the company to pass on cost savings to consumers. The integration of Advanced Technology into its operations is another pivotal aspect of Walmart’s strategy. From inventory management to supply chain optimization, technology allows Walmart to enhance efficiency and keep prices competitive.

Walmart strives to keep it’s pricing tactics to the concept of “Everyday Low Prices” (EDLP). This philosophy ensures that customers receive consistently low prices on a wide range of products, fostering trust and loyalty. Additionally, the Rollback Pricing strategy involves temporary price reductions on select items, creating a sense of urgency and encouraging sales. Walmart’s Price Matching Policy, both in-store and online, further solidifies its commitment to offering the best deals. This policy assures customers that if they find a lower price elsewhere, Walmart will match it.

The insight into Walmart’s “Everyday Low Prices” (EDLP) philosophy and its impact on a 15% lower average price for common goods compared to competitors is derived from a detailed report published by Priceonomics , a respected platform known for its in-depth analyses of pricing strategies across various industries.

The statistics regarding Walmart’s market share of 22% in the U.S. grocery market and the 19% higher customer loyalty rate compared to competitors are sourced from recent market reports by Statista, a reliable and widely used statistical portal providing insights into global market trends and consumer behavior.

Multiple layers of Discount

Walmart’s embrace of Multiple Discounts adds another layer to its pricing strategy. Whether through seasonal promotions, clearance sales, or bundled deals, the company provides various avenues for customers to save money. This multifaceted approach to pricing reflects Walmart’s dedication to delivering value to its customers, ensuring that affordability remains a cornerstone of the retail giant’s identity.

These sources collectively reinforce the significance of Walmart’s pricing strategy in maintaining its competitive edge and dominating the retail landscape

Walmart’s Servicing Business

Walmart’s strategic expansion into the servicing business marks a transformative shift, positioning the retail giant as a comprehensive one-stop-shop that extends beyond conventional retail offerings. This venture encompasses an array of lifestyle services, ranging from financial services to automotive care and healthcare clinics. Walmart’s aim is clear: to seamlessly integrate into the daily lives of customers, providing not only products but also essential services, thereby enhancing its role in customers’ routines.

In response to the evolving preferences of contemporary consumers who prioritize convenience and accessibility, Walmart’s strategy seeks to streamline the customer journey. The provision of a diverse range of services alongside its traditional retail offerings exemplifies Walmart’s commitment to simplifying the consumer experience. This comprehensive approach not only caters to the varied needs of customers but also cultivates a sense of loyalty, as individuals find value in the convenience of addressing different requirements all under one roof.

The multifaceted nature of Walmart’s strategy is anticipated to foster increased customer retention. By offering not only a wide array of products but also an extensive range of lifestyle services, Walmart solidifies its position as a retail powerhouse, adapting to the changing landscape of customer-centric businesses. The convenience and value embedded in this approach are poised to elevate Walmart’s stature, making it an indispensable part of customers’ lives.

SWOT Analysis of Walmart’s Business strategy

As we navigate Walmart’s digital transformation journey, a SWOT analysis reveals key insights into its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, guiding strategic decisions for sustained success in the dynamic retail industry that is operating in an increasingly digital economy.

SWOT Analysis of Walmart:

• Strong Brand Recognition: Walmart’s strength lies in its widely recognized and trusted brand, fostering consumer confidence and loyalty.
• Diverse Revenue Stream: The company’s adaptability is evident through a diverse revenue stream, navigating various markets and industries to maintain financial resilience. Per Walmart’s Q3 FY23 Earnings , a breakdown of walmart’s income can be recognised through its Sam’s Club membership sales (Up by 7.2%), Walmart U.S Comp Sales (Up 4.9%), Walmart U.S. eCommerce (up by 24%), and Walmart International sales (up by 5.4%). 
• Economies of Scale: Walmart leverages its extensive size for economies of scale shown by its strong revenue growth of 5.3% per 2022 and 2023 consolidated Income statement, enabling cost advantages in procurement, operations, and overall efficiency. 
• Strong Customer Base: With a vast and loyal customer base, Walmart establishes a robust foundation in the retail sector, emphasizing customer retention and sustained business growth as per market share stat of 60% shown on the Market retail/wholesale industry dominated by Walmart.

Weaknesses:

• Labor Relations: Walmart has faced criticism for labor practices, including low wages and labor disputes.
• E-commerce Competition: Despite significant strides, Walmart faces intense competition from e-commerce giants (e.g, amazon, eBay), impacting its online market share.
• Over Reliance on US Market: A substantial portion of Walmart’s revenue is generated in the United States, making it vulnerable to domestic economic fluctuations.
• Inconsistent customer service: represents a weakness in Walmart’s SWOT analysis, as variations in service quality across different locations may impact the overall customer experience, potentially leading to customer dissatisfaction and diminished brand perception.

Opportunities:

• E-commerce Expansion: Further growth in the online market allows Walmart to capitalize on changing consumer shopping habits.
• International Expansion: Targeting untapped markets presents opportunities for global revenue diversification.
• Health and Wellness Market: The growing trend towards health-conscious living provides avenues for expansion in the health and wellness sector. Increased understanding of customer journeys in these niches is key to begin to build stickiness effects.
• Technological Innovations: Embracing cutting-edge technologies can enhance customer experience and operational efficiency through a growing Omnichannel marketplace. It is vital to master data science and begin to leverage AI in the battle to understand consumer behaviors and deliver a remarkable experience.
• Competition: Intense competition from traditional retailers and e-commerce platforms poses a threat to Walmart’s market share such as Costco, Target and Amazon.
• Regulatory Challenges: Changes in regulations, especially related to labor and trade, can impact Walmart’s operations and costs. One such example is the metrics shown per Walmart’s ethics & compliance code of conduct aligning to regulatory challenges in culture, work safety, risk mitigation and more. 
• Economic Downturns: Economic uncertainties and recessions may lead to reduced consumer spending, affecting Walmart’s revenue.
• Supply Chain Disruptions: External factors like natural disasters or geopolitical events can disrupt the global supply chain, impacting product availability and costs. Such threats are specifically addressed by Walmart’s Enterprise Resilience Planning Team .

More on Walmart’s Online Competitors

Walmart faces formidable competition in the online retail arena, with key rivals such as Amazon and Target vying for a share of the digital market. Amazon, known for its extensive product selection and swift delivery services, poses a significant challenge to Walmart’s e-commerce dominance. Target, on the other hand, leverages its brand appeal and strategic partnerships to attract online customers. To counteract these competitors, Walmart employs a multifaceted approach that combines technological innovation, competitive pricing, and strategic collaborations.

Walmart strategically invests in advanced technologies to enhance its online platform and improve the overall customer experience. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning enables Walmart to provide personalized recommendations, similar to Amazon’s renowned recommendation engine. Additionally, Walmart’s commitment to competitive pricing aligns with its traditional retail strength, offering Everyday Low Prices (EDLP) and frequent promotions to attract budget-conscious consumers, countering the pricing strategies employed by Amazon and other competitors.

Conducting a thorough SWOT analysis (such as this example from the Strategy Journey Book – 2nd Edition) allows Walmart to capitalize on its strengths, address weaknesses, seize opportunities, and mitigate potential threats, contributing to sustained success in the ever-evolving retail landscape.

Walmart’s Digital Transformation Strategy in the new ERA of AI-led Customer Centricity 

Walmart’s online business strategy.

Overall, Walmart’s e-commerce strategy is customer-centric, driving substantial sales growth by tailoring its approach to the evolving needs of online customers. Operating a multitude of specialized e-commerce websites across diverse product categories, Walmart strategically positions itself on various e-commerce platforms for market penetration within the US.

Servicing Relevant Customer Journeys & Sustainable Transformation

Walmart’s evolving online strategy is characterized by a dual focus on extensive product offerings and technological sophistication, with concrete examples per its strategic partnership with Adobe in 2021 to integrate walmart’s marketplace, online and instore fulfillment and pickup technologies with Adobe commerce showcasing its commitment to a seamless customer experience. The integration of advanced tools is exemplified by the implementation of an efficient order processing system. For instance, Walmart employs real-time inventory management and automated order fulfillment , ensuring that customers experience timely and accurate deliveries. Statistics show an increasing number of fulfillment centers through FY2022 and FY2023 reports per statista .

Emerging predictive capabilities supported by Data Science and AI

In addition, the technological depth extends to personalized experiences, illustrated by Walmart’s robust recommendation engine. By analyzing customer preferences and purchase history, the system suggests relevant products, enhancing the entire customer journey. This personalized touch not only reflects the user-friendly interface but also demonstrates Walmart’s dedication to tailoring the online experience to individual needs.

Focus on seamless CX and UX to improve customer stickiness

Furthermore, Walmart’s commitment to a seamless online interaction is evident in its streamlined navigation features. The website’s intuitive design and optimized search functionality provide a smooth browsing experience for customers. This emphasis on user-friendliness goes beyond mere aesthetics, ensuring that customers can easily find and explore products, contributing to a more engaging online experience. Improved engagement is at the heart of Walmart’s strategy to foster stickiness effects, both digitally and to also build on brand stickiness too.

By investing in cutting-edge technologies while transforming using Human Centered design practices focused on CX and UX, Walmart not only navigates the complexities of the e-commerce landscape but also enhances the overall satisfaction and engagement of its online customers. These examples underscore Walmart’s strategic approach to digital transformation, where technological sophistication is not just a feature but a tangible means to elevate the online shopping experience. 

Walmart International Business

Successful international business expansion requires operating model transformation, and Walmart’s strategy is characterized by a blend of strategic acquisitions, partnerships, and a keen understanding of local markets. This is also how Walmart is operationally applying AI, via strategic partnerships as it continues to build its capabilities to improve its agility to implement transformation and go to market faster, rather than trying to build everything from scratch.

A Sustainable Diversification strategy that adapts to local markets  

Walmart’s international business expansion is a testament to its strategic approach in entering diverse markets and adapting to local nuances. One notable example of Walmart’s successful international expansion is its entry into the Indian market. In 2018, Walmart acquired a majority stake in Flipkart, one of India’s leading e-commerce platforms. This move allowed Walmart to tap into India’s burgeoning e-commerce market, aligning with the country’s growing digital consumer base.

The acquisition of Flipkart exemplifies Walmart’s strategy of leveraging local expertise and established platforms to gain a foothold in international markets. Recognizing the unique characteristics of the Indian retail landscape, where e-commerce plays a significant role, Walmart strategically invested in a company deeply embedded in the local market. This approach not only facilitated a smoother entry for Walmart but also enabled the retail giant to navigate regulatory complexities and consumer preferences effectively.

Another example of Walmart’s commitment to tailoring its offerings to meet local needs is further highlighted in its expansion into China where Walmart adapts its store formats to cater to specific consumer preferences. 

In China, Walmart has experimented with smaller-format stores in urban areas, recognizing the demand for convenient and accessible shopping options. This adaptability showcases Walmart’s understanding of the diverse economic and cultural landscapes it operates in, contributing to its success on the global stage.

Working with partners to diversify and build a sustainable business model 

Collaborations and strategic partnerships play a pivotal role in Walmart’s competitive strategy. In 2023, Walmart has outlined plans to invest heavily into AI automation fulfillment centers to improve its unit cost average by 20%, increasing efficiency in order fulfilments and operations. 

The acquisition of Jet.com in 2016 expanded Walmart’s digital footprint and brought innovative talent into the company. Furthermore, Walmart’s partnerships with various brands (such as Adobe, ShipBob) and retailers enable it to diversify its product offerings, providing a competitive edge against the more specialized approaches of some competitors. As part of Walmart’s strategy in marketing, Walmart has announced partnerships with social media giants such as TikTok, Snapchat, Firework and more further boosting its online digital footprint. 

The acquisition of Jet.com in 2016 not only expanded Walmart’s digital footprint but it brought innovative talent into the company. It is clear Walmart sees the need for talent as key to its continued efforts to apply human centered design as part of its digital transformation strategy.

By continuously adapting and evolving its strategies, Walmart is clearly implementing digital transformation sustainably, to support its future operating model as Walmart remains a formidable force in the online retail landscape, navigating the challenges presented by its competitors.

In conclusion, Walmart’s business strategy is that of an growing Omnichannel marketplace, a multifaceted approach that combines physical and digital retail, competitive pricing, supply chain excellence, and a commitment to customer satisfaction. Understanding these elements provides insights into the retail giant’s enduring success in a rapid changing and competitive digital economy as it continues to combat emerging new business disruptions.

Q1: How did Walmart become a retail giant?

Walmart’s ascent to retail dominance can be attributed to a combination of strategic pricing, operational efficiency, and a customer-centric approach. 

Q2: What sets Walmart’s supply chain apart?

Walmart’s supply chain is marked by innovation and technological integration, allowing the company to streamline operations and stay ahead in a competitive market.

Q3: How does Walmart balance physical and digital retail?

Walmart seamlessly integrates its brick-and-mortar stores with its online presence, offering customers a comprehensive shopping experience.

Q4: What is Walmart’s philosophy on pricing?

Walmart’s commitment to everyday low prices is a fundamental philosophy that underpins its strategy, ensuring affordability for consumers.

Q5: How has Walmart expanded globally?

Walmart’s global expansion involves adapting its strategy to diverse markets, understanding local dynamics, and leveraging its core strengths.

About the author

Julie Choo is lead author of THE STRATEGY JOURNEY book and the founder of STRATABILITY ACADEMY. She speaks regularly at numerous tech, careers and entrepreneur events globally. Julie continues to consult at large Fortune 500 companies, Global Banks and tech start-ups. As a lover of all things strategic, she is a keen Formula One fan who named her dog, Kimi (after Raikkonnen), and follows football - favourite club changes based on where she calls home.

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How Walmart Became The Retailer Of The People

Table of contents.

In the world of American retail success stories, it’s impossible to ignore the giant that is  Walmart . Just the mention of the name will bring about connotations of scale that are difficult to fathom in our modern context. 

Let's take a look at some of Walmart's astounding numbers

• $524 Billion (USD) revenue in 2020, an increase of $9.6 Billion 
• Over 2.3 Million employees worldwide, 1.6 Million in the US alone
• 4,743 Walmart stores in the US alone
• 5,184 Walmart international segment stores 
• Located in 24 countries
• Global market share of 2.6% in 2021

In this article, we’ll dive deeply into the Walmart story, unpacking the insights that drove them, the circumstances that made them, and pulling as much value as we can from what they’ve been able to accomplish. Whether you’re in retail or not, there are lessons to be learned here about strategic positioning, customer experiences, product development, long-term sustainability, supplier negotiation, and much more. 

Let’s dig in.

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The Origin Story

The global behemoth started in a very humble way in Arkansas, back in 1962. Mercurial founder  Sam Walton  had a dream of what a true customer-focused retail experience could be. He believed that you could offer low prices and a great customer experience in parallel. And he set out to prove it.

That first store got off to a roaring success because it did something different from what everyone else provided. Walton’s dedication to leadership through service meant that the store felt like a family-led operation that genuinely cared for those who came through the doors. At this stage, it wasn’t the product range or scale that kept customers coming through the doors; it was the feeling that you actually mattered. You weren’t just a number. You were a valued client whose business was cherished.

Over the next 5 years, Sam Walton and his family expanded this philosophy to open up a further 23 stores, which generated just over $12m in revenue. With each new store they planted, they strived to understand the local community and their needs – delivering the sort of retail experience that they would appreciate. And it was this focus that allowed them to continue growing without losing their spark. Even as they began to scale, the small-town feel remained, and the Walton DNA was sprinkled across every part of the value chain.

In 1969, the company was officially incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and just one year later, they were listed as a public company. The vision was to bottle up the magic and take it to a national scale. In a way that had rarely been seen before, the ambition was unbounded. They really did see a future where Walmart stores littered the whole of the USA.

By the time 1980 rolled around, the company crossed the $1bn sales figure, with contributions from 276 stores across the country. In today’s numbers, that’s huge, but back in 1980, it isn’t easy to appreciate just how powerful this empire was. The company had revolutionized modern retail, and on the back of significant improvements in mass production and global supply chains, Walmart continued to accelerate in terms of influence and market share. They were quickly becoming the go-to brand for anything and everything.

Every brand that tried to compete with them struggled to match their low prices, wide variety, and family-friendly ideals that made customers feel at home in the stores. Even though the Waltons couldn’t be everywhere, the culture they had nurtured continued to permeate each location, making it a shopping experience that couldn’t be beaten.

In the ‘90s, the company continued to expand, breezing through $100bn sales in a year and growing its operations into Mexico and other select international locations, most notably  China . Thanks to the Walmart supercenters, the company strengthened its brand as the one-stop shop for absolutely everything, providing great value and low costs across everything sold.

As of the time of writing, Walmart now operates over 10,000 stores globally, employing over 2.3m people and maintaining the status of one of the most recognizable brands across the world. The ethos of Sam Walton created an empire that champions low-priced goods delivered at scale in a way that delights customers through and through.

Now that we have a sense of some of the history, let’s look at some of the strategic pillars that make Walmart the success it is.

The Walmart Cheer

In 1975, Sam Walton traveled to Korea and Japan to visit some of his suppliers and to see what the mass production facilities looked like that were feeding the rapid growth of his organization. One of the visits was to a Korean tennis ball manufacturer, where he came across the idea of what would become the  Walmart Cheer .

The factory was not that inspiring aesthetically, but Walton was taken aback by how enthusiastic and happy the staff was. It was clear that they had something special about them, even in the rather dingy circumstances that they worked in. And when he saw the reason why he knew he had to bring a similar idea to Walmart.

The employees at this factory would get together at the beginning of every day and perform a cheer together. As silly as this sounds, they would do this choreographed war cry of sorts that was designed to unite them and reinforce the values and ideals that they were aiming for that day. On a once-off, this might seem like just a gimmick, but repeated day after day, and it turned into a mantra for that factory that kept the workers going and helped them to feel like they were a part of something larger than themselves.

Walton loved this idea and adapted it into what is known today as the Walmart Cheer. Every day before the staff opens their doors to the public, they will gather together to perform this ritual. The sales numbers for the day before would be read out, as well as any goals that are being set for that particular day, and then the employees will go back and forth spelling out Walmart in the same enthusiastic way that you might have during your high school war cries.

Walton recognized that while this seemed inconsequential to some, a little ritual like this acted as a moment for the staff to come together and set their intentions for each day. It gave the store managers an opportunity to share some words of inspiration or motivation to help fire up the employees. And it got the employees to get into their bodies a bit and set themselves up to be in a good state for what was to come.

By the time that the doors were opened for that day, there was an energy and vitality in that workforce that was contagious. This would help them serve the customers with as much verve as possible, which was what Walmart was all about.

Now, whether this is still done at every store is anyone’s guess, but it points to an important strategic insight that comes from Walmart. They understand that the energy put forth by their retail staff has a significant impact on the overall buying experience. While we tend to place a lot of focus on product ranges, pricing, distribution, marketing, and all those components the truth still remains that people buy from people. The ritual of the Walmart Cheer was a simple piece of what made those employees feel like they were all on the same team. And through the age-old tool of group song and dance, they could set their intentions and build the energy that they would need to give to their customers.

This shows an attention to detail that most retailers don’t get right. We’ve all been in situations where the apathy shown by retail employees creates a sour experience for us as customers, and it leads to us ignoring that brand as a result. Walmart understood this and sought to create practical ways for employees to come together and deliver that exceptional buying experience that the customers were looking for.

Always Low Prices

One of the more common oversimplifications that you’ll hear in the business strategy canon is that your pricing model must fall into one of two camps- high volumes at low prices or low volumes at high prices. While the reality is much more nuanced than that, the choice remains one that all companies must make if they are to create something sustainable.

Walmart has always been focused on low prices. They will do everything they can to slash their prices as low as possible because that is the value that they aim to provide to their customers. They want to beat the competition by convincing their audience that you won’t find these goods for cheaper than anywhere else. All across their supply chain, they are doing everything they can to keep the costs as low as possible.

You can see that most clearly in their margins. For the vast majority of their existence, they’ve kept their net profit margin in the  1-5% range , which is quite staggering when you think about the size and scale that they’ve managed to achieve. This is certainly doing things the hard way when it comes to building a business. Leaving yourself this little operational wiggle room is something that a lot of strategists might advise you against. But Walmart has made it work incredibly well.

The reason that this is so interesting is that in our modern context, the biggest companies in the world have insanely high margins that business experts across the gamut celebrate. The digital businesses that leverage the internet to deliver their offerings can find their margins being in the range of 60% and upwards in most cases, which is in stark contrast to the Walmart model.

But that’s a feature of brick-and-mortar retail. Your overheads and your rent make up a sizable chunk of your cost, and then you add on top of that the complex supply chain that brings a wide variety of products onto your shelves. Before you know it, your margins are under serious pressure and you require a significant investment in infrastructure to get the economies of scale you need.

This is compounded when you consider the types of goods that Walmart sells. The core of the offering is essentials, which are the bread and butter of daily life. Customers only really care about price and convenience in these verticals, so Walmart set itself up to match those desires. Through innovative supply chain optimizations and radical cost-cutting philosophy, they made themselves known as the discount retailer where you get the best prices.

It’s difficult to understate how valuable this branding is. If you can convince your customers that you’ll always have the lowest prices on the market, there’s no reason for them even to consider your competitors. Instead, they trust your product curation and become loyal customers of Walmart. At this point, you transcend the competition, and all you’re working on is delivering a consistently high quality of service to your existing base. This is the core proposition that the entire empire is built on.

That’s not to say that a low-price strategy is easy to execute, of course. There are some serious  minefields  you must navigate when you are trying to compete solely on price. It’s certainly not well suited for every business. But if you can carve out that space in the mind of the customer, you can build a sustainable following that will continue to bring you the volumes you need to make the business work.

Your business promise manifests itself and drowns out the competition.

Decentralized Logistics

To operate at the scale that Walmart does, you rely on a logistics system that must perform incredibly efficiently and reliably in rain or shine to supply stores with the items they need. In fact, you wouldn’t be out of order to suggest that at this point, Walmart is essentially a logistics company. In much the same way that Amazon relies on its distribution center, Walmart relies on always having its products in stock to fulfill the customer promise that they’ve made. And to do this with thousands of stores across the world is not an easy thing to get right.

The key strategic decision that the company made when it comes to its logistics was to decentralize its distribution centers and focus on getting the best possible location for each one. Instead of focusing on how they could achieve economies of scale in each distribution center, by building massive warehouses that would then distribute goods, they wanted more centers that could service the surrounding stores in a reasonable period of time. The objective that they set was that every Walmart store should be able to receive a delivery within 24 hours from a distribution center. This meant that as long as the distribution centers were well stocked, you could rectify stock shortages in any store within a day – helping to ease the pressure that comes with being known as the shop that has everything.

The placement of these distribution centers thus became very important to get right. You weren’t optimizing for low rent, high traffic, good infrastructure, or any of that. You were doing a geographic calculation to identify which stores needed to be serviced and therefore, where should the center be placed. These centers became the nodes of the network that would enable Walmart to spread its wings across the whole of the USA. They potentially could have saved money by optimizing for different criteria, but the specific choice to have a decentralized system meant that they could always ensure that their inventory levels were well managed and controlled.

Another interesting piece of this strategy was that once they had a new distribution center up and running, they would start by building the furthest store away from that center and then move closer and closer towards it, building stores as they went. This meant that the distribution center was prepared, right from the beginning, to handle its most challenging deliveries. Every subsequent store that was built could leverage that early work, and things got easier and easier as a result.

This prioritization also meant that Walmart could be much more selective as to where their actual retail locations were. Using the distribution center as the centerpiece, they could identify the key customer locations that mattered most and set up shop there, creating the spokes of their wheel. It was small details like this that allowed them to ramp up their retail capacity in ways that other chains just couldn’t match.

These logistical decisions have, of course, become part and parcel of our modern conversation because of the shift towards online shopping. Led by the giant that is Amazon, the world of logistics management has radically advanced since Walmart’s early days. But in their time, they really were one of the first companies who were very thoughtful about how they set up their distribution networks and used those pillars as the foundation on which they would expand their empire.

Bargaining Power

It would be impossible to discuss Walmart’s strategy without talking about the incredible level of bargaining power they enjoy over their suppliers. As one of the first retailers that went on an aggressive land grab strategy, they were determined to expand their offering as widely as possible to every town in America. They hoped to bring their consumer promise of low prices to everywhere you could imagine so that the brand became synonymous with saving.

Their success with this rapid expansion meant that they ate up market share in every region that they entered. And after a while, they became the dominant retailer in the country, controlling a significant portion of the goods market. This early domination gave them the leverage that they needed to negotiate the best possible terms with their suppliers.

When Walmart came knocking, suppliers knew that the order sizes were so big that they had to do anything to win that business. Manufacturers around the world would compete to have their goods on Walmart shelves because the scale was just unfathomable. This competition drove prices down and improved payment terms for Walmart itself. They could sit back and let companies eat into their own margins – helping Walmart to provide even lower prices to customers.

This is one of those advantages that gets locked in early and is very difficult to dislodge. If you look back at Walmart’s competitors over the years, this is one of the reasons why they have struggled to make a dent. Walmart’s bargaining power in these negotiations is second to none because a lot of suppliers would reconfigure their entire operation to manage the Walmart order. It was so big in size that it would subsume your manufacturing capacity and while some were able to expand beyond it, a lot of companies were comfortable just servicing the growing Walmart empire.

An example like this shows just how important a first-mover advantage can be in markets like this. When you’re competing on price and convenience, the way that you build scale is by being everywhere. And even though your margins are low in the beginning, if you can capture the market early, you can then put pressure on your suppliers to improve the financial situation over the long term.

You have to have enough cash to wait it out, of course, but this is the same model that we’ve seen from numerous venture-backed companies from the past two decades who chase customer growth first, knowing that once they have the lion’s share of the market, they will have the opportunity to squeeze all the other stakeholders because of the power that you wield. Uber is one modern example that comes to mind here.

And it’s not only on price that you benefit. The improved payment terms that you can negotiate have a significant influence on your cash flow cycle and therefore your ability to scale. Essentially, Walmart created an opportunity for themselves to borrow money for next to nothing which could then subsidize their long-term plans. It’s one of those lesser celebrated pieces of the business that actually has had an outsized impact on their success. And it shows the virtues of a high-volume, low-priced business.

In-House Drivers and Route Optimization

Another part of the Walmart strategy that has paid off for them is the decision to insource their transport across the board. Currently, the company boasts one of the largest truck fleets in the world, and their drivers are some of the highest-skilled drivers in the industry. They made it a priority from very early on to invest in this because they knew that it was crucial to managing a vast landscape of stores. They could have very easily subcontracted this work out to a courier service directly but decided that bringing it in-house would provide synergies that would be valuable.

They spend a lot of time and resources training and upskilling their drivers so that they can maintain the safest possible distribution network in the business. The drivers clock in over 700 million miles every year but still have one of the best safety records on a global scale. This speaks to the attention to detail and care taken to strengthen this part of their business, where a lot of companies might try to cut corners.

Having the best drivers isn’t everything though, you then have to figure out how to utilize them most effectively. Walmart does this expertly through complex route optimization processes that plan out all the travel that these trucks must go through to meet the demands of the various stores.

The main thing that they focus on is minimizing empty miles. Every time a truck is travelling without goods inside it, that opportunity cost is eating into the bottom line. So, everything that the company can do to optimize how they use their available space is going to pay dividends over the long run.

To this end, they employ sophisticated logistics management software that tracks current inventory levels, store purchases, incoming supplies, and truck positioning – to craft routes and distribution schedules that can deliver as efficiently as possible. This technology undergoes a complex weighting of various criteria including fuel consumption, environmental impact, traffic conditions, and more – ensuring that all the transport resources are used to their full potential. This has been tweaked over time and continues to learn from ongoing data that consistently compounds its value.

None of this optimization would be possible though without  the right data behind it , and that’s another area where Walmart has invested a lot of money into. The technological infrastructure that sits behind these thousands of stores is monumental. It allows the distribution nodes to understand the exact situation in real-time for any store they work with. As conditions change or consumer behavior adjusts, they can take that into account and adapt the transportation planning accordingly. 

It’s difficult to appreciate just how transformational this is until you’ve spent some time working on inventory management solutions. This part of business has changed dramatically in the last few years with the Internet of Things, machine learning, and advanced algorithmic decision-making starting to make its mark in the world of logistics. Walmart has shown itself to be a leader in this regard, which continues to push them forward as a company.

Of course, the shift towards online shopping is going to disrupt the typical way they do things, but the principles of logistics remain the same. As Walmart begins to compete on last-mile delivery to the houses of their individual customers, they are going to rely on many of the same technologies to manage inventory, track deliveries, and optimize routes so that they can sweat their assets as efficiently as possible.

The big competitor here is Amazon, who have built a distribution network unlike anything we have ever seen, but Walmart still holds its own because of the infrastructure it has in place. Some are talking about how we may see Walmart converting some stores into further distribution centers for online orders and if so, they would have some of the best-located nodes that anyone could imagine. We’ll have to wait and see.

Walmart is an American institution and through the years it has become a key staple for millions of families across the country. Through thick and thin, Walmart is relied upon to provide the essentials that customers need to survive and thrive. As such, they’ve transcended a mere grocery store and have taken on a certain social responsibility to continue to supply the American people with what they need.

In times of natural disasters that have devastated American towns, we’ve seen Walmart get on the front lines to help supply the recovery efforts and help to rebuild communities that are getting back onto their feet. But the only way they’ve been able to do that is by having their own  disaster recovery strategies  in place – policies that stand out when you compare them to the rest of the industry.

At great cost, Walmart has built six dedicated disaster recovery centers which are well-stocked at all times and ready to serve if something goes wrong in any of their regions. These centers are specifically designed to be a backup and so they hope that they never have to use them, but over the past few decades they have played a very important role in the Walmart story.

Having this redundancy in place as a business allows them to react much quicker to adverse conditions than might be possible otherwise. At the very moment where stores are incapacitated, they can have their distribution center ready to replenish the supplies that are needed in that community. This means that customers can rely on Walmart to get them the goods that they need even in the very worst of times.

Doing this has significant financial implications of course because those centers are just sitting attracting cost without delivering any tangible ROI for the company. Some might say that it’s a waste of resources. But Walmart sees the power in being the retailer that never runs out of stock and is more than happy to pay those costs. Because the branding that comes with it more than pays for those idle distribution centers. Customers can trust that Walmart will look after them in every circumstance, good or bad, and that continues to entrench their competitive advantage in every market they enter.

We can all learn from this – and it’s certainly very topical right now as we deal with a global pandemic. Having redundancy in your organization to prepare for those rainy days helps you to be much more agile than you would have been. And when you consider the branding tailwinds you receive when you are in a position to help people, it makes all that investment worth it.

This is not a corner that you should cut lightly. Redundancy matters.

Acquisitions and Joint Ventures

Let's look at how Walmart approached its international expansion. We can see a very clear strategic preference for acquiring existing retail chains or partnering with existing brands instead of trying to build their own from scratch. This principle is at the heart of their entries into Mexico, China, India, South Africa, and everywhere else where they have a presence. And it’s worth discussing why they went this route.

Walmart understood that the cultural context of their branding and their product offering is what enabled their success in each local area that they went. Customers trusted the chain with their business because it was delivering exactly what they wanted at the best price possible.

The organization knew that if they were to go into a new territory where they had limited cultural understanding, they risked creating a retail experience that didn’t serve those people in the way that it should. And that was an expensive mistake to make if you were entering a new company for the first time.

Instead, if they could leverage the knowledge and experience of local brands who understood the market, they could fast-track all of those learnings and get up to speed in next to no time – because they were standing on the shoulders of giants. So, that’s what they did. They would go into these new markets and look for acquisition targets that made sense for the growing empire.

They were looking for great locations, high customer foot traffic, and a certain penchant for discount shopping. Not only that, they were also looking for operations that weren’t operating as smoothly as they could be. That’s where the Walmart machine could add value.

When the company found a target like this, they could offer a premium price to acquire those brands because they had the confidence in their own technology, systems, and global supply networks that they could drastically improve the efficiency of those stores and drive prices even further down as a result. Riding on the success of the American stores, they could afford to take their time reconfiguring the internal operations and turning those brands into the sophisticated operations that were in place back home.

This is not to say that every acquisition worked,  far from it . International expansion is notoriously difficult. But the key insight is that they realized that they didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. The existing brands had loyal customers, good locations, and a cultural understanding of what was required to serve that particular area. If Walmart could bring its technology and operational excellence to the table, it could turn the dial up on success and grow internationally in a much more streamlined way.

The lore of internal expansion is littered with stories about high-powered brands walking into new countries and expecting to just build exactly the same business in the new place. Walmart wasn’t that naïve. They knew that they had to be smarter than that. And you should be too.

That brings us to the end of this strategy breakdown for Walmart, one of America’s biggest retail success stories. It’s rare that you see a company carry forward the ethos and values of its founder as it scales to this size, but that’s exactly what Walmart has done. Even though it is now a giant commercial conglomerate, it hasn’t lost that special sauce that the Waltons imbued in the company DNA.

It hasn’t tried to become what it’s not. The company has stayed true to its original brand promise that it will give you the widest range of goods at the best prices, wherever you happen to be. We’ve pulled out some key strategic pieces in this study, and those are certainly important in how they’ve got to where they are, but the purity of the offering is what really stands out.

Behind the simplicity of the brand image, lies a sophisticated logistics network, cutting-edge real-time data analysis, thoughtful HR strategy, planned redundancy, strong supplier negotiation, and a land grab strategy rivaled only by perhaps McDonald’s. These components all come together to make Walmart what it is and the scale they’ve achieved is testament to making this a winning formula.

What lies in the future for the company remains to be seen. They face stiff competition from Amazon and a myriad of other online retailers who are stealing customers from right under their noses. But we wouldn’t want to doubt their ability to adjust just yet. They’ve shown time and time again that they can remain relevant, and it’s hard to see them giving that up now.

It’s a story of diligence, perseverance, and a customer focus that bordered on obsession. And when we look back at some of the greatest retailers the world has ever seen, you can bet that Walmart is going to be very near the top of that list.

Sam Walton, we salute you.

Table of Contents

Walmart's target audience, importance of price in competitive retail business, product marketing , store location        , want to become a digital marketer , walmart marketing strategy.

Walmart is a multinational giant corporation that operates retail stores in the form of hypermarkets. It was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton. Today the company has more than 10,000 stores and clubs in 24 countries. The Walton family controls the company. The billionaires of the Walton family include Jim Walton, Alice Walton, S. Robson Walton, Lukas Walton, Ann Walton Kroenke, Nancy Walton Laurie and Christy Walton. 

Walmart's Marketing strategy makes it successful in the competitive retail business. The competition in the retail business is immense, and many companies have failed to survive in this business. Walmart's marketing strategy has also helped the company to face the onslaught of the e-commerce giant Amazon. The way Walmart is run is stable because of its management procedures. The Walmart Marketing Mix is why the big store has been so successful.

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The target audience of Walmart is low to middle-class rural families. These people want to shop conveniently in a single location. The price and discounts are something they look for while shopping. Walmart has been able to understand the target audience and created its stores as per the demand trends.

Overall, we'll look at Walmart's 4Ps marketing mix to discover its unique and interesting ways to market its business in this time of stiff competition.

Price determines how successful and long-lasting a product will be in the future. It tells how much money will be made from the sale and how competitive the product will be on the market. If you charge a high price, the sales volume will decrease. On the other hand, if you charge a very low price, the volume will increase. All companies strive to achieve the correct mix between the price and volume. Walmart has perfected its pricing strategy via the following methods:- 

• Instead of charging too much for the products, Walmart maximises its income by making prices customer-friendly and focusing on bulk sales.
• Walmart is known for its superior procurement methods in negotiating prices to keep the costs low. 
• Diversification makes sure that if one product doesn't get enough attention, other products that go well with it can help boost sales of other products.
• Universal barcoding and stock-keeping unit (SKU) systems make the supply chain run more smoothly, letting prices go down.
• Walmart allows the financing of big-ticket items like appliances and furniture. This keeps the initial outlay of the consumer law. 

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There are a lot of things for sale at Walmart stores. They give the market what the people want. It is easier to sell and promote a product that people want than to bring something new to the market. Walmart chooses what products to sell by using the following methods:

• They have a huge number of items in almost every category. Some of these are food, tools, furniture, appliances, health and wellness products, and fun things to do.
• They buy bulk to save money and take advantage of economies of scale.
• They have an excellent working connection with their suppliers.
• Walmart's brand products are only sold in Walmart stores.

The methods an organization uses to get people interested in or learn about its product are known as promotions. 

• Walmart has sales with discounts at different times of the year.
• The store uses phrases like "Save money, live better," "lowest price store," "worry-free fresh," and "everyday low pricing" to get the consumer excited. 
• Walmart uses many different ways to advertise, such as commercials on TV, billboards, social media, and eCommerce websites.
• They offer safe shipping options that give online customers the best quality of service.
• Walmart backs up most of their products with reliable warranties and replacement policies, which gives customers peace of mind.

Location is important for every business. Customers care a lot about where a business is and how easy it is to get to. Walmart uses several strategies to make sure that all aspects of location, which is part of the marketing mix, are effective and efficient:

• A powerful eCommerce platform lets people buy things without going to a real store.
• A well-organized network of distribution centers that makes it easy for businesses to pick up orders and send products straight to customers.
• The company can keep track of whether they are on the way or in stock.
• Walmart stores, mostly in the U.S., are strategically placed in places that are good for business.
• A fleet of delivery trucks makes it easy to get things from door to door.
• Walmart differentiates its different stores to generate high brand recall. 

There are a few things to learn from Walmart's marketing mix:

• Getting people to buy something is all about setting prices right. Businesses must know where to put their items and how much to charge for them based on who they want to sell to.
• When intermediaries are taken out of the supply chain, merchants can save money and pass it on to their customers.
• New age businesses need to connect with the consumers with the help of their customer service. Promotions form an important part of putting out the message. For example, Walmart allows the return of its products, which induces consumer confidence. 
• A digital presence is now nearly as crucial, if not more important, than a physical presence. 

Walmart's marketing strategy is successful as it has built a brand based on trust. The confidence the consumers have while purchasing at Walmart allows it to stand ahead of the competition. With the right price, place, promotions and product, the company has been able to differentiate itself from the immense competition. The Walmart marketing strategy includes the other P's like people, process, etc. Their hiring strategy of choosing the right employees gives it an advantage, especially against Amazon, which is used to getting roiled up in controversies regarding the labor conditions. 

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Home » Management Case Studies » Case Study: Business Strategy Analysis of Wal-Mart

Case Study: Business Strategy Analysis of Wal-Mart

Sam Walton, a leader with an innovative vision, started his own company and made it into the leader in discount retailing that it is today. Through his savvy, and sometimes unusual, business practices, he and his associates led the company forward for thirty years. Today, four years after his death, the company is still growing steadily. Wal-Mart executives continue to rely on many of the traditional goals and philosophies that Sam’s legacy left behind, while simultaneously keeping one step ahead of the ever-changing technology and methods of today’s fast-paced business environment . The organization has faced, and is still facing, a significant amount of controversy over several different issues; however, none of these have done much more than scrape the exterior of this gigantic operation. The future also looks bright for Wal-Mart, especially if it is able to strike a comfortable balance between increasing its profits and recognizing its social and ethical responsibilities .

Why is Wal-Mart so Successful ? Is it Good Strategy or Good Strategy Implementation ? In 1962, when Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas, no one could have ever predicted the enormous success this small-town merchant would have. Sam Walton’s talent for discount retailing not only made Wal-Mart the world’s largest retailer, but also the world’s number one retailer in sales. Indeed, Wal-Mart was named “Retailer of the Decade” by Discount Store News in 1989, and on several occasions has been included in Fortune’s list of the “10 most admired corporations.” Even with Walton’s death (after a two-year battle with bone cancer) in 1992, Wal-Mart’s sales continue to grow significantly.

Regarded by many as the entrepreneur of the century, Walton had a reputation for caring about his customers, his employees (or “associates” as he referred to them), and the community. In order to maintain its market position in the discount retail business, Wal-Mart executives continue to adhere to the management guidelines Sam developed. Walton was a man of simple tastes and took a keen interest in people. He believed in three guiding principles: 1. Customer value and service; 2. Partnership with its associates; 3. Community involvement.

• The Customer — The word “always” can be seen in virtually all of Wal-Mart’s literature. One of Walton’s deepest beliefs was that the customer is always right, and his stores are still driven by this philosophy. When questioned about Wal-Mart’s secrets of success , Walton has been quoted as saying, “It has to do with our desire to exceed our customers’ expectations every hour of every day”.
• The Associates — Walton’s greatest accomplishment was his ability to empower, enrich, and train his employees. He believed in listening to employees and challenging them to come up with ideas and suggestions to make the company better. At each of the Wal-Mart stores, signs are displayed which read, “Our People Make the Difference.” Associates regularly make suggestions for cutting costs through their “Yes We Can Sam” program. The sum of the savings generated by the associates actually paid for the construction of a new store in Texas. One of Wal-Mart’s goals was to provide its employees with the appropriate tools to do their jobs efficiently. The technology was not used as a means of replacing existing employees, but to provide them with a means to succeed in the retail market.
• The Community — Wal-Mart’s popularity can be linked to its hometown identity. Walton believed that every customer should be greeted upon entering a store, and that each store should be a reflection of the values of its customers and its community. Wal-Mart is involved in many community outreach programs and has launched several national efforts through industrial development grants.

What are the Key Features of Wal-Mart’s Approach to Implementing the Strategy Put Together by Sam Walton — The key features of Wal-Mart’s approach to implementing the strategy put together by Sam Walton emphasizes building solid working relationships with both suppliers and employees, being aware and taking notice of the most intricate details in store layouts and merchandising techniques, capitalizing on every cost saving opportunity, and creating a high performance spirit. This strategic formula is used to provide customers access to quality goods, to make these goods available when and where customers want them, to develop a cost structure that enables competitive pricing , and to build and maintain a reputation for absolute trustworthiness.

Wal-Mart has invested heavily in its unique cross-docking inventory system . Cross docking has enabled Wal-Mart to achieve economies of scale which reduces its costs of sales. With this system, goods are continuously delivered to stores within 48 hours and often without having to inventory them. Lower prices also eliminate the expense of frequent sales promotions and sales are more predictable. Cross docking gives the individual managers more control at the store level.

A company owned transportation system also assists Wal-Mart in shipping goods from warehouse to store in less than 48 hours. This allows Wal-Mart to replenish the shelves 4 times faster than its competition. Wal-Mart owns the largest and most sophisticated computer system in the private sector. It uses a MPP (massively parallel processor) computer system to track stock and movement which keeps it abreast of fast changes in the market. Information related to sales and inventory is disseminated via its advanced satellite communications system.

Sam Walton received national attention through his “Buy America” policy. Through this plan, Wal-Mart encourages its buyers and merchandise managers to stock stores with American-made products. In a 1993 annual report management stated the program demonstrates a long-standing Wal-Mart commitment to our customers that we will buy American-made products whenever we can if those products deliver the same quality and affordability as their foreign-made counterparts.

Environmental concerns are important to Wal-Mart. A prototype store was opened in Lawrence, Kansas, which was designed to be environmentally friendly. The store contains environmental education and recycling centers. Wal-Mart has also adopted the low cost theme for its facilities. All offices, including the corporate headquarters, are built economically and furnished simply. To conserve energy, temperature controls are connected via computer to headquarters. Through these programs, Wal-Mart shows its concern for the community.

Just how Successful is Wal-Mart? — A forecast of Wal-Mart’s income for the period 1995-2000, considering increases of 30.6% in Net Sales, 27.7% in Operating Expenses, and 52.3% in Interest Debt (a level which is below Wal-Mart’s historically compounded growth rate of 55.6%) indicates that the company should continue to report gains each year until 2000.

Growth on Sales — According to most analysts and company projections, sales should approximate $115 billion by 1996, representing an increase of 30.6% as compared to 1995. If the company continues at this pace, sales should reach $334 billion by the year 2000. The growth on sales that Wal-Mart reported during the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s will be difficult to repeat, especially considering the ever-changing marketplace in which it competes. In an interview, Bill Fields, President of the Stores Division, said “Wal-Mart is now seeing price pressure from companies that once assiduously avoided taking it on. These include specialty retailers such as Limited, category killers like Home Depot and Circuit City, and catalog companies like Spiegel. I think everybody prices off of Wal-Mart. You’ve got Limited reaching levels we’d thought they’d never get to. The result is that everyday low prices are getting lower”.

Debt Position — Based on Wal-Mart’s position in 1994, which was considered a year of expansion for the company, (Wal-Mart added 103 new discount stores, 38 “Supercenters”, 163 warehouse clubs, and 94,000 new associates) interest debt increased 52.3%. The cost paid by Wal-Mart to finance property plants and equipment forced the company to increase long term debt by 4.6 times during the period 1991-1995. Long term debt for 1995 is $7.9 billion. If Wal-Mart continues its expansion plans based on more debt acquisition at 1994 levels, the company may not attain forecasted gains by as early as 1998.

Operating Expenses — Operating expenses will be a key strategic issue for Wal-Mart in order to maintain its position in the market. The challenge is how to run more stores with less operating expenses. According to Bill Fields, “. . . the goal is to increase sales per square foot and drive operating costs down yet another notch”. Trends indicate that operating expenses have been growing at a rate of 27.7% in recent years. However, Wal-Mart should reap the benefits of its investments in high technology, and be able to operate more stores without increasing its expenses.

Wal-Mart’s future will depend on how well the company manages its expansion plans. For the coming years, the company will need to justify its expansion plans with consistent growth in sales, in order to offset the increases in debt interest and operating expenses.

What Problems are Ahead for Wal-Mart? What Risks? — Throughout the 1980s, Wal-Mart’s strategic intent was to unseat industry leaders Sears and Kmart, and become the largest retailer in the U.S. Wal-Mart accomplished this goal in 1991. But Wal-Mart’s current strong competitive position and its past rapid growth performance can’t guarantee that the company will remain as the industry leader or maintain its strong business position in the future. Carol Farmer, a retail consultant, told the Wall Street Journal that, “One little bad thing can wipe out lots of good things”. Every move in its business operation ought to be well thought-out and executed.

Also, if Wal-Mart continues to follow Sam Walton’s vision of expansion, Wal-Mart will reach its peak in the very near future. When it does, its growth will start to slow down and the company will need to turn its strategic attention to diversification for future growth .

2) Social responsibility — Retail stores can compete on several bases: service, price, exclusivity, quality, and fashion. Wal-Mart has been extremely successful in competing in the retail industry by combining service, price, and quality. However, other merchants may object to Wal-Mart’s entry into their community. Because of its ability to out-price smaller competitors, Wal-Mart’s stores threaten smaller neighborhood stores which can only survive if they offer merchandise or services unavailable anywhere else. This makes it very hard for small businesses, such as “mom-and-pop” enterprises, to survive. They, therefore, fight to keep Wal-Mart from entering their locales. Numerous studies conducted in different states both support and criticize Wal-Mart. Nevertheless, Wal-Mart did drive local merchants out of business when it opened up stores in the same neighborhood. As a result, more and more rural communities are waging war against Wal-Mart’s entrance into their market. Besides protesting and signing petitions to attempt to stop Wal-Mart’s entry into their community, the opposition’s efforts can even be found on The Internet. Gig Harbor, a small town in Washington, recently started a World Wide Web page entitled “Us Against the Wal.” The town’s neighborhood association promised that they “will fight them [Wal-Mart] tooth and nail”.

How Big Will Wal-Mart be in Five Years if all Continues to go Well? — Before he died, Sam Walton expressed his belief that by the year 2000 Wal-Mart should be able to double the number of stores to about 3,000 and to reach sales of $125 billion annually. Walton predicted that the four biggest sources of growth potential would be the following: 1. expanding into states where it had no stores; 2. continuing to saturate its current markets with new stores; 3. perfecting the Supercenter format to expand Wal-Mart’s retailing reach into the grocery and supermarket arena — a market with annual sales of about $375 billion; 4. moving into international markets.

Wal-Mart Supercenters represent leveraging on customer loyalty and procurement muscle in order to create a new domestic growth vehicle for the company. With few locations left in the U.S. to put a new Sam’s Club or traditional Wal-Mart, the Supercenter division has emerged as the domestic vehicle for taking Wal-Mart to $100 billion in sales. Before the Supercenter, Walton experimented with a massive “Hypermart”, encompassing more than 230,000 square feet in size. The idea failed. Customers complained that the produce was not fresh or well-presented and that it was difficult to find things in a store so big that inventory clerks had to wear roller skates. One of Walton’s philosophies was that traveling on the road to success required failing at times.

Walton’s prediction was right on target. The Supercenter division more than doubled in size during 1993, then doubled again in 1994. Supercenters, once thought of as risky because of slim profit margins on the food side, will most likely make Wal-Mart the nation’s largest grocery retailer within the next five to seven years.

Expanding overseas, Wal-Mart moved into the international market in 1991 through a joint-venture partnership with CIFRA S.A. de C.V., Mexico’s leading retailer. Since then the company has entered Canada, Hong Kong, mainland China, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Brazil. The Wal-Mart International Division was officially formed in 1994 to manage the company’s international growth. By the year 2000, analysts expect Wal-Mart to be a huge international retailer, with numerous locations in South America, Europe, and Asia.

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Why Walmart is creating a lifestyle ‘super app’

Since the advent of e-commerce, traditional retailers have tried various ways to take advantage of new shopping methods while keeping the in-store experience growing. Walmart, one of the world’s largest retailers, always strives for a customer-first mindset. So the company has been working to deliver a broader omnichannel experience to customers.

We want our app to be more than just a shopping transaction.

I recently talked to Meng Chee, Walmart’s chief product officer, about the company’s attempt to create a “super app” that’s more than just a shopping experience — and how the pandemic accelerated this approach.

How has your app strategy evolved due to COVID-19, with more consumers choosing to shop across digital platforms?

Before the pandemic, we were already changing our app strategy. Historically speaking, before 2019 we had two areas of businesses running separately: e-commerce and in-store. But in 2019, we made the decision to merge, and in 2020, we restructured our product organization to be at the center, with the goal to deliver omnichannel experiences. That’s why, when the pandemic hit, it only accelerated our efforts to bring one app together. This acceleration has also helped us focus on our larger ambition to create a super app, meaning we want our app to be more than just a shopping transaction. Ultimately we want it to be a lifestyle app, because we’re growing our business, and adding health and wellness services, financial services, auto care, etc. All of this comes together and represents a lifestyle package that we can give our customers via a super app.

I love that you’re talking about super apps. Can you give me an example of a nonshopping use for the app?

Absolutely. Many innovations happened in our app during the pandemic. For Walmart in particular, because of the prominence we have in many communities across the country, we created an online vaccine scheduler so customers could schedule their vaccinations at their local store. Quickly thereafter, we heard from customers that they wanted an easier way to manage their paper vaccine card. So we created a digital vaccine card that is accessible in their Walmart Pharmacy account.

Creating this kind of app can be organizationally tricky. Can you talk to me about how you overcame organizational silos?

The customer is at the center of everything we do. We think there are three ways to address how to work through silos within a large organization and create the apps that matter.

You need clear accountability. … You need a framework that an organizational structure agrees to use and use consistently.

First, you need the right organizational structure. In this case, part of that solution meant having a centralized product organization so that we could prioritize and think about solutions holistically and consider what happens in-store, online, and in the app.

Second, you need a framework that really identifies the way you’re working. You need clear accountability. You can’t have every single silo with a vote. You need a framework that an organizational structure agrees to use and use consistently. This way, you make clean, clear decisions that are consistent for the customer, regardless of how they shop with us.

Finally, you need to create a model that enables executional agility. For example, we have a model that we like a lot called “four in a box.” The 4ITB team is composed of accountable leads from product, tech, design, and the business. The idea is that we work together on solving a problem for the customer in a collective, integrated way. This is how we overcome organizational complexity and develop a clear focus on what our app needs to do in a way that drives value for our customers.

How does Walmart foster a seamless experience for its customers across web and app platforms?

We design with the customer journey in mind. We don’t look at app-versus-web experiences. While we have teams that are dedicated to each, we put the customer’s needs first. A customer might start on a web browser at home, because it’s convenient to shop for groceries, but then go to their phone on the go to add a few things before they pick up in-store. There’s so much that goes on, and we need to think about the customer journey holistically to help them make consistent decisions across platforms. The way you achieve that consistency is to thread it all the way across the product life cycle, and, in this case, multiple product life cycles.

What are some innovations you’ve developed to personalize the experience, and how do you see that evolving?

Our core guiding promise to our customers is to help make their lives better. In order to do that, our personalization has to work very well. There’s a lot to compete with in terms of head space as you look at your phone today, which is why personalization is so key. We have to rapidly bring our brand and our value to the forefront of a customer’s attention span.

For example, we know customers enjoy using our app to shop for their weekly groceries for pickup at our store or delivery at home. To make it faster and easier to place pickup or delivery orders, we created a tab in the app called My Items. The My Items tab automatically organizes customers’ preferred items into categories, like dairy and eggs, pantry, beauty, and more — like having a curated store to shop from within Walmart.

We design with the customer journey in mind. We don’t look at app-versus-web experiences.

Does the app have an impact on the in-store experience?

Absolutely. The app and in-store experiences must be connected, because today’s customer shops across all our channels based on their schedules. It’s our responsibility to design an integrated experience that works for their needs, not the other way around.

Our stores are a competitive advantage, and they’ll always be a core shopping channel for our customer. But we also know that we can use technology to simplify the in-store shopping experience.

For example, we heard from our customers that they wanted better navigation to find where products are located in stores and easier ways to checkout. Over the last year, we’ve been rolling out a new design for Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets that includes things like updated exterior signage reflecting the Walmart app icon, updated in-store messaging system and signage to guide customers and associates to products using the app, and more hosted-checkout kiosks as well as contactless payment solutions, like Walmart Pay and Scan and Go.

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Walmart Branding Strategy and Marketing Case Study

Analysis and examples of walmart’s identity, positioning, key messages, tone of voice, brand archetypes, customer benefits, competitors, and marketing content..

Back To The Branding Strategies Homepage

Brand Overview

Business type.

Physical Products 

https://walmart.com

Target Customer

Budget-Minded Shoppers

Primary Need ( Job To Be Done )

Get all of my everyday, essential products at the best possible price

Brand Visual Identity & Content

Primary brand colors, brand typefaces, hero content.

Hero Content Type

Content features people, brand messaging, key messages, benefit or feature focus, tone of voice, brand archetypes.

( Learn More About Brand Archetypes )

Everyperson

Brand Positioning ( Elements of Value )

( Learn More About The Elements of Value )

Aspirational

Affiliation / Belonging

Provides Access

Reduces Cost

Brand Benefits

Go to a one-stop shop for all my everyday, essential products

Feel confident that I’m getting the best deals on products and staying within my budget

Access a safe, familiar shopping experience whether I’m near home or somewhere new

Competition

Key competitors.

Amazon , Target, Kroger, Google, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Home Depot

Get Help Growing Your Brand

Get a 10 page workbook on Purpose, Vision, and Values. Plus resources for Archetypes, Tone, Messaging, and more.

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Walmart's Marketing Strategies: The Largest Retailer in the World

Archana Karthikeyan , Apoorva Bajj

Walmart is a global retail company with headquarters in the US. Sam Walton launched the business in 1962, and it has since developed into one of the leading retailers worldwide. Almost 2.3 million people are employed by Walmart, which runs over 11,000 locations across 27 countries.

Walmart offers an extensive range of products at affordable costs, including food, electronics, apparel, home goods, and more. The business operates under several distinct names, including Walmart, Sam's Club, and Jet.com.

Walmart is renowned for its effective inventory and supply chain management systems , which enable the business to provide cheap pricing while upholding high standards of customer service. Also, the business provides a wide range of services, such as Walmart Pay, online grocery buying, and free two-day shipping on several products.

Walmart has recently placed a strong emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, establishing challenging targets for cutting emissions and waste while also aiming to enhance working conditions for staff members in its supply chain.

Despite criticism over its labor policies and effects on small companies, Walmart continues to be a significant player in the retail sector, having a significant presence both domestically and abroad.

Walmart Target Audience Walmart Marketing Mix Walmart Marketing Campaigns Walmart Marketing Strategies

Walmart Target Audience

Walmart usually caters to a wide range of people. With a large selection of low-cost items, the business hopes to cater to clients of all ages, genders, and socioeconomic sectors.

Walmart nevertheless targets a number of distinct client niches. A few of these include:

• Consumers searching for value and affordability: Walmart is renowned for having low pricing on a variety of goods, which draws in people on the hunt for both.
• Families: Walmart provides a range of goods catering to families, such as food, baby supplies, toys, and household necessities.
• Customers in rural areas: Walmart has a big presence there and may be the only major store in the region.
• Shoppers who are tech-savvy: They find Walmart more appealing now that the company has made investments in its online store platform.

• Customers who value health and wellness: Walmart has increased its offering of organic and natural items and pharmaceutical services to entice customers who place a high priority on these factors.

Generally, a diverse group of people makes up Walmart's target market, but the corporation places a strong emphasis on providing cheap costs, convenience, and a large variety of goods to satisfy those demands.

Walmart Marketing Mix

The four Ps make up Walmart's marketing mix: product, price, location, and promotion. The way Walmart treats each of these components is broken down as follows:

• Product: Walmart sells a large variety of goods under both its own and other brands, including food, electronics, apparel, household goods, and more. Walmart's product strategy is centered on offering customers high-quality, reasonably priced goods that satisfy their demands.
• Price: Walmart leads the discount retail sector by offering its items at the lowest cost feasible. This pricing approach has helped Walmart become a market leader. The business keeps costs down by using its effective inventory and supply chain management systems, and it then passes those savings on to customers.

• Place: Walmart has a sizable and expanding network of stores, both domestically and internationally, that are well-placed to cater to customers in a range of markets. Walmart provides online shopping and grocery pickup services in addition to physical locations to give customers more convenience.
• Promotions: Advertising, sales promotions, and public relations are just a few of the promotional strategies Walmart uses. The business makes significant investments in advertising, reaching consumers through a range of platforms including TV, print, and internet media. Also, Walmart runs sales events with discounts and coupons to entice shoppers to buy things.

In addition to the four Ps, Walmart has recently placed an emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, trying to cut emissions and waste while also enhancing working conditions for staff members in its supply chain. These initiatives now play a significant role in the company's overarching marketing strategy.

Walmart Marketing Campaigns

Walmart has launched several marketing campaigns over the years to promote its products and services. Here are a few examples:

• Save Money, Live Better

This is Walmart's long-standing tagline, which communicates the company's commitment to offering low prices and high-quality products to its customers. The tagline has been used in various advertising campaigns over the years, including TV commercials and digital ads.

• Made in America

Walmart launched a campaign in 2013 to promote American-made products and to support US-based manufacturing. The campaign included advertising, in-store signage, and partnerships with American manufacturers.

Grocery Pickup

Walmart has heavily promoted its grocery pickup service in recent years, which allows customers to order groceries online and pick them up at a Walmart store. The company has used a variety of advertising channels to promote the service, including TV commercials and digital ads.

• The Walmart Box

Walmart launched a subscription box service in 2018, called "The Walmart Box." The service sends customers a box of curated products every season, including items from Walmart's private-label brands. Walmart has promoted the service through social media and email marketing.

• Famous Cars

Walmart partnered with Universal Pictures in 2018 to launch a campaign featuring famous cars from movies and TV shows, such as the Batmobile and the DeLorean from " Back to the Future ." The campaign included in-store events and online promotions and was designed to promote Walmart's automotive department.

Overall, Walmart's marketing campaigns have focused on promoting its low prices, high-quality products, and commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. The company has used a variety of channels, including TV, print, digital media, and in-store signage, to reach its customers.

Walmart Marketing Strategies

Walmart's success can be attributed to several key marketing strategies that have helped the company to build a strong brand and attract a large customer base. Here are a few strategies that have contributed to Walmart's success:

• Low Pricing Strategy: Walmart has been known for its "Everyday Low Prices" strategy, which involves offering products at lower prices than competitors. This pricing strategy has helped Walmart to attract customers who are looking for value and affordability.
• Wide Product Selection: Walmart offers a wide range of products, including groceries, electronics, clothing, household items, and more. This selection of products has helped to make Walmart a one-stop-shop for customers, increasing convenience and attracting a larger customer base.
• Efficient Supply Chain Management: Walmart has an efficient supply chain management system that helps to keep costs low and improve product availability. The company's use of technology, including its advanced inventory management systems, has helped it to streamline its operations and keep prices low.
• Strong Brand Identity: Walmart has built a strong brand identity around its commitment to offering low prices and high-quality products. The company's " Save Money, Live Better " tagline, its blue and yellow logo, and its in-store signage all help to reinforce this brand identity and create a sense of familiarity and trust among customers.

• Customer Service: Walmart places a strong emphasis on customer service, offering a variety of services such as in-store pickup, online ordering, and free shipping . This focus on customer service helps to build loyalty and trust among customers.
• In-store Promotions: Walmart frequently runs in-store promotions, such as " Rollback " discounts, to incentivize shoppers to make purchases. These promotions are often advertised on signs throughout the store.

• Customer Loyalty Programs: Walmart provides " Walmart Rewards ," a customer loyalty program that enables consumers to accrue points for purchases. You may exchange these points for savings or other benefits.
• Private Labels: Walmart offers a variety of private label brands, including Great Value and Equate , which provide goods at a lesser cost than national brands. Walmart is able to retain its reputation for low costs because of its private-label products.
• Store Layout and Design: Walmart's store layout and design were thoughtfully created to entice customers to stay longer and make more purchases. The layout of the store, for instance, frequently directs people away from popular items and encourages impulse purchases.

• Social Responsibility: Walmart's marketing plan places a strong emphasis on social responsibility issues including environmental sustainability and community participation. Walmart may attract clients that value corporate social responsibility by highlighting its commitment to these concerns.

Overall, Walmart's success can be attributed to a combination of low pricing, wide product selection, efficient supply chain management, strong branding, and excellent customer service. These marketing strategies have helped Walmart to build a strong brand and attract a loyal customer base.

Hope you take inspiration from marketing strategies employed by Walmart to be a market leader and build strategies that suit your business.

What is the target audience of Walmart?

What are a few marketing campaigns launched by walmart.

• Grocery Pick-Up

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Walmart Marketing Strategy: Decoding the Success of the US Multinational Retailer

The Walmart household name has made an enormous impact in the retail world of hypermarkets and experienced immense growth since its humble beginnings in 1962. Operating approximately 11,000 discount department and grocery stores, Walmart is the largest company by revenue worldwide, with almost US $570 billion annually and 2.2 million employees. The brand’s presence extends to numerous countries and various retail formats, like warehouse clubs, eCommerce websites, and supercenters. Without a doubt, these insane numbers and facts have made this retail Goliath a worthy candidate for a dedicated case study and a deep dive into the Walmart marketing strategy. By examining the Walmart sales methodology and localized marketing, our readers will gain valuable insights into successful retail business models and the future of creating optimized customer experiences. 

Table of Contents

• > Looking into the beginning and development of Walmart
• > The elements of the Walmart marketing strategy
• > The Walmart marketing strategy and its comprehensive shift towards omnichannel
• > Analyzing Walmart’s eCommerce website
• > Intriguing tech Walmart is presently applying
• > Fascinating stats regarding Walmart
• > The most recent news of Walmart
• > Discover more resources about FMCG retailers

Looking into the beginning and development of Walmart

The first Wal-Mart Discount City store opened on July 2, 1962, by Sam Walton at 719 W. Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas, and by 1989, it had become the largest retailer in terms of revenue in the USA. Since then, Walmart has expanded its operations and subsidiaries in Canada, the UK (ASDA), Central and South America, and China. But let’s take it from the beginning and examine the evolution of this enormous brand in detail to get a clearer view.

Incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law, the company officially adopted the name Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 1970, when it opened its first distribution center in Bentonville. The center included 38 stores, generating $44.2 million in sales and operating with a workforce of 1,500 employees. It secured a listing on the New York Stock Exchange with its first stock split in May 1971 at $47 per share. Later on, the Walmart brand expanded to four states: Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma, entering Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi in ‘73 and ‘74, respectively. By 1975, Walmart had 125 active stores, 7,500 employed, and $340.3 million in total sales.

Expansion and Development

The ‘80s were an experimental period for Walmart, as the brand opened the first Hyper-Mart, bringing the supercenter precursor to light. Hyper-Mart owned four different types of stores combined, including discount stores, video arcades, pharmacies, supermarkets, and more. The enormous exponential growth continued, and by its 25th anniversary, Walmart had established 1,198 stores and billions of dollars in sales. It is said that the secret to Walmart’s growth was the strategic pattern of expansion over time and the fact that they were building distribution centers in hubs with proximity to Supercenters.

In 1987, Walmart invested $24 million in the company’s satellite network, a significant and radical innovation for this period. The network was linking all the stores through two-way voice and data transmissions and one-way video communications with the main office in Bentonville. This groundbreaking investment allowed Walmart to create an enormous private satellite network, aiding the company in monitoring its sales and inventory while communicating with its stores in real time. In 1988, Sam Walton gave his position as CEO to David Glass, but he kept his position as chairman of the board.

As the mid-1990s approached, Walmart established its brand as the predominant retail force in the U.S., opening stores in Mexico, Canada, and the rest of the United States. In 1995, it entered the North American market with stores in Argentina and Brazil, following an expansion in Europe with the acquisition of ASDA in the United Kingdom in 1999. 

In 1998, Walmart brought a new, original concept, the Neighborhood Market, debuting with three brick-and-mortar stores in its home state, Arkansas. By 2005, the company’s authority in the retail grocery and consumables sector had skyrocketed, and estimations show that Walmart commanded approximately 20% of the market.

The new millennium steered Walmart into a complete transformation when H. Lee Scott assumed the roles of president and CEO. During his leadership, the company’s sales soared to an astonishing $165 billion by 2000. In 2002, Walmart achieved an additional milestone as it secured the first spot on the prestigious Fortune 500 list, with staggering revenues of  $219.8 billion and profits reaching $6.7 billion. Walmart’s dominance was, once again, reaffirmed, as it held this position consistently every year, except for 2006, 2009, and 2012. 

By 2005, Walmart’s worldwide reach had been significant, reporting $312.4 billion in sales with a network of over 6,200 facilities globally. This footprint included 3,800 stores in the United States and an additional 2,800 stores, employing over 1.6 million associates. The company’s presence in the U.S. was so vast that only isolated regions of the country remained more than 60 miles (97 kilometers) from the nearest Walmart store.

The elements of the Walmart marketing strategy

Walmart has become a literal empire, ascending to a prominent position in the retail industry. Its strategic innovation, dedication to accommodating customer needs, and never-ending commitment to cost-effective solutions. These principles have been at the forefront of the Walmart marketing strategy since its inauguration, so let’s explore how it turned into an industry giant.

Target markets and customer personas

Walmart refers primarily to low to middle-class demographics and families residing in rural areas, so the brand builds on the notion of guaranteeing low prices every day. This segment desires and seeks the convenience of one-stop shopping, emphasizing competitive pricing and affordable solutions when making their purchasing decisions. The Walmart success story lies in the comprehension of the preferences and needs of this audience, thus tailoring its offerings to align with prevailing consumer trends and demands.

Environmental initiatives, social responsibility, and community engagement

Walmart’s commitment to environmental sustainability, ethical sourcing, and community development is at the core of its overarching brand strategy, aimed at enhancing brand equity and fostering enduring customer loyalty. The corporation actively engages with local communities through strategic initiatives such as sponsorships, fundraisers, and charitable donations, bolstering its reputation and cultivating strong loyalty among its customer base.

In a pivotal move in November 2005, Walmart unveiled a comprehensive set of environmental initiatives, marking a significant shift in its corporate ethos. Among the prominent objectives outlined was an annual allocation of $500 million towards achieving a 25% enhancement in fuel efficiency across Walmart’s expansive truck fleet within three years, with an ultimate goal of doubling it within a decade. Simultaneously, Walmart pledged to effect a substantial 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over seven years, coupled with a concerted effort to curtail energy consumption at its stores by an ambitious 30 percent. Additionally, the company aspired to achieve a commendable 25 percent reduction in solid waste generated by U.S. stores and Sam’s Clubs within three years.

Walmart’s global eCommerce division 

Walmart’s Global eCommerce division manages online retailing for multiple brands, including Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Asda, operating domestically and internationally. It has operational centers in various U.S. locations like California and Oregon and global hubs in cities such as Shanghai, Leeds, and Bangalore.

To compete with Amazon.com, Walmart strategically acquired Jet.com in September 2016 and expanded its e-commerce capabilities by adding Parcel, a New York-based delivery service, in September 2017. In February 2017, Walmart acquired Moosejaw, an online outdoor retailer, granting access to over 400 partner brands. Marc Lore, Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce CEO, emphasized the synergy between their extensive physical store network and digital expansion, with physical stores serving as efficient e-commerce warehouses. Walmart introduced in-store pickup for online orders in 2017, initially at 1,000 stores, with plans for broader implementation across all retail locations.

Product diversification and private labels 

The Walmart marketing strategy revolves around meeting customer demand effectively. Their approach includes an extensive product range covering categories like food, tools, furniture, appliances, health, wellness, and entertainment. This retail giant leverages bulk purchasing to capitalize on economies of scale, nurturing strong supplier relationships while exclusively selling its brand products in Walmart stores.

A significant aspect of the Walmart marketing strategy involves developing private label brands such as Great Value and Equate, offering quality products at competitive prices. Approximately 40% of Walmart’s product offerings are these private labels, a concept introduced in 1991 with the launch of Sam’s Choice beverages, which quickly gained popularity. This strategy has solidified Walmart’s brand presence and customer perception in various markets, exemplifying its dominance in the retail sector.

Supply chain and inventory management 

Walmart is well-known for its efficient management of inventory and supply chains, which allows the company to offer competitive prices while maintaining exceptional customer service standards. One of its pivotal tactics involves maintaining a well-organized network of distribution centers that facilitates the seamless pickup and direct delivery of orders to customers. This approach enables precise tracking of product availability and in-transit status, enhancing overall supply chain management. Additionally, Walmart nurtures robust supplier relationships and employs streamlined supply chain management processes, ensuring competitive pricing for its customers.

Decentralized distribution centers

A critical strategic decision that sets Walmart apart is its decentralized distribution center model. Rather than focusing solely on achieving economies of scale with massive centralized warehouses, the company prioritizes establishing numerous distribution centers strategically placed to serve surrounding stores efficiently. Walmart strategically positions its stores, particularly in the United States, to maximize business potential with meticulous geographic planning that contributes to high brand recall and accessibility for customers. The objective is to ensure that every Walmart store can receive deliveries from a distribution center within 24 hours, thereby effectively mitigating inventory shortages and reinforcing Walmart’s reputation as a one-stop shop. 

This emphasis on location extends to the sequence of store construction, with Walmart building stores progressively closer to a distribution center, ensuring optimal delivery capabilities. This approach also grants the flexibility to select retail locations strategically, prioritizing customer-centricity and further enhancing Walmart’s retail capacity in comparison to competitors.

In-house deliveries and data-driven optimized routes

Walmart’s successful strategy includes the comprehensive internalization of its transportation operations, making it one of the world’s largest truck fleet operators. This early decision to invest in an in-house transport system has allowed Walmart to effectively manage its extensive network of stores. The company places great emphasis on driver training and safety, enabling them to maintain an exceptional safety record despite covering over 700 million miles annually.

One key focus for Walmart is minimizing “empty miles,” where trucks travel without cargo, incurring opportunity costs. They achieve this through advanced logistics management software that continuously monitors factors like inventory levels, purchases, and truck positions, enabling efficient route planning. Additionally, Walmart has invested significantly in a robust technological infrastructure, providing real-time insights into store conditions. This data-driven approach allows the company to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and consumer behaviors, optimizing their transportation planning with precision.

Customer loyalty program

Walmart offers the “Walmart Rewards” customer loyalty program, allowing shoppers to gather points through their purchases. The points can subsequently be redeemed for discounts or other valuable benefits, like discounts and gift cards.

The Walmart marketing strategy and its comprehensive shift towards omnichannel

Since 2015, under the leadership of Doug McMillon, Walmart has made significant and radical changes to its omnichannel and digital strategy. Investing approximately $1.2 billion in its eCommerce program, the brand has the customer at the center of its efforts.

Personalized shopping experience

Walmart’s website uses AI and machine learning algorithms to personalize the shopping experience for users. Based on browsing and purchase history, the website provides product recommendations tailored to individual preferences.

Augmented reality (AR) 

Walmart has dabbled in AR to improve the online shopping experience. For instance, they’ve tested features that let users take a virtual “try before you buy” approach with certain products, particularly in the furniture and home decor section.

Voice shopping and 3D virtual shopping tour 

Collaborating with platforms like Google Assistant, Walmart introduced voice-activated shopping. Customers can add items to their cart using voice commands. At certain points, Walmart has experimented with a 3D virtual shopping tour, allowing users to navigate through a virtual home and shop for products as they explore.

Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) end easy reorder

Using data analytics, Walmart’s website has a feature that tracks users’ most frequently purchased items and makes it easy for them to reorder those products in just a few clicks. In addition, for third-party sellers, this tech ensures that partnered sellers can leverage Walmart’s storage, packing, and shipping expertise, which streamlines the online buying process for customers.

Walmart introduced its subscription service, similar to Amazon Prime. The tech behind it integrates with the website to offer subscribers benefits like free shipping, fuel discounts, and mobile scan-and-go features.

Blockchain technology, and order tracking

For certain products, Walmart uses blockchain technology to trace their journey from source to store. This increases transparency in the supply chain and assures customers of product authenticity. To enhance customer support, Walmart’s website includes order tracking so that customers can monitor their orders easily.

Analyzing Walmart’s eCommerce website

Walmart is undoubtedly one of the top and most highly evaluated retail brands out there. We’ve analyzed four-page templates of their site to identify eCommerce best practices and mistakes you should avoid.

A. Analyzing Walmart’s Homepage

What we liked

• Sticky header with a lot of relevant and on-point suggestions 
• “How do you want your items?” section so that customers can choose whether they want their products shipped, picked up or delivered. 
• Different offers across different products above the fold 
• Engaging videos 
• Prominent and super clear search bar 
• Distinct categorization on the header 
• Easy access to the Walmart+ loyalty program
• Fast reorder option 

What we didn’t

• The homepage has a lot of information and too many CTAs, so this can be a little distracting 
• No drop-down menu on the categories 
• The “Give feedback” button would work better if it wasn’t on the footer

B. Analyzing Walmart’s category page

• “Express delivery” reminder above the fold so that customers can book their slots 
• Additional categorization inside the category page 
• Seasonal products 
• Limited-time, online, weekly deals to increase urgency
• “Build your cart” suggestions section with best-selling products and direct CTAs that are placed strategically 
• “Under $5” and “Under $10” products that appeal to bargain-hunting visitors 
• Like the homepage, the category page is a little crowded on information 
• Each category has too many different sets of subcategories, and the consumer can get easily lost. Sometimes the subcategories are irrelevant to the main category, and this can increase frustration.  

C. Analyzing Walmart’s product page

• Free shipping with no order limit banner on top of the product
• “Add to favorite” heart-button
• In-store location of the product 
• Product suggestions and best-selling products in the same category
• Nutritional facts and extensive product information
• High-resolution product pictures 
• Too many sections for related product recommendations

A. Analyzing Walmart’s checkout process

• Instant add-to-cart functionality with recommended products 
• Last-minute booking slots for deliveries and pick-ups
• Savings reminders and additional shipping costs included 
• Sticky “Continue to checkout” CTA
• No guest check-out

Intriguing tech Walmart is presently applying 

Using the buildwith tool, we scanned Walmart’s website and highlighted the most impressive technologies spotted. 

• Bazaarvoice: Specializes in providing solutions for businesses to collect, manage, and analyze consumer-generated content.
• Omniture SiteCatalyst: Digital analytics tool that helps businesses track and analyze user interactions and behaviors on their websites.
• Adobe Dynamic Tag Management: Solution that manages and deploys various marketing tags and code snippets on their websites
• LiveRamp: Data connectivity platform that enables companies to connect, control, and activate their data
• ThreatMetrix: ThreatMetrix provides digital identity and fraud prevention solutions.
• PerimeterX: This solution protects web applications and APIs from automated threats, such as bots, scrapers, and fraudsters.
• Rollbar: Error tracking and debugging platform for software developers.

Fascinating stats regarding Walmart

• As of 2023, Walmart operates a vast network of 10,622 stores and clubs spanning 24 countries.
• In April 2023, there were a total of 4,717 Walmart establishments in the United States.
• Walmart caters to a staggering customer base, serving over 37 million individuals daily and exceeding 230 million customers weekly.
• Globally, Walmart achieved a substantial revenue of approximately $573 billion.
• Walmart’s e-commerce segment generated impressive sales totaling $53,921 million.
• Daily, Walmart’s revenue surpasses the remarkable sum of $1.5 billion.
• Walmart.com commands a notable 6.3% market share within the United States.
• Walmart’s international stores collectively contributed to net sales amounting to $81.1 billion.
• With a global workforce of 2.3 million associates, 1.6 million of them are based in the United States.
• Walmart’s eCommerce experienced remarkable growth during the pandemic, with a 74% increase.
• As of 2023, Walmart.com recorded an impressive 407.8 million visits to its platform.

The most recent news of Walmart

• Walmart and Wing Team Up To Provide the Convenience of Drone Delivery ( corporate.walmart.com )
• Walmart Chile To Create First Industrial-Use Green Hydrogen Production Plant in Latin America ( corporate.walmart.com )
• These 5 Career Pathways Are Helping Walmart and Sam’s Club Associates Transition to the Future of Retail ( corporate.walmart.com )
• School is in Session: How Walmart Helped Teachers and Students Ace the Back-to-School Season ( corporate.walmart.com )
• Climate activists attack Walmart heiress’ $300m yacht – again ( independent.co.uk )

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• The Marks and Spencer eCommerce Case Study: 3 Growth Lessons for Retailers
• The Ocado marketing strategy: How it reached the UK TOP50 retailers list
• ASDA’s marketing strategy: How the British supermarket chain reached the top
• FMCG Marketing Strategies to Increase YOY Revenue

What we gained from studying the Walmart marketing strategy

Walmart’s journey to becoming a retail powerhouse is not a stroke of luck but a reflection of its meticulously crafted and executed marketing strategy. This strategy encompasses both traditional brick-and-mortar retail as well as a robust digital presence. In a constantly evolving retail environment, Walmart understands that staying stagnant is not a viable option; they embrace innovation and adaptability as core principles in their quest for continued success.

Before embarking on a comprehensive customer engagement solution, conducting extensive market research becomes imperative. ContactPigeon’s expertise on the latest best practices in retail, eCommerce, and omnichannel customer engagement has helped hundreds of retailers in Europe and the USA. Enhance your understanding of retail strategies by taking the initiative to schedule a free 30-minute consultation session with our experts today. This will aid you in delving deeper into the intricacies of effective customer engagement strategies according to your brand’s needs and your audience.

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Walmart Marketing Strategy: 7 Ways They Are so Successful

Walmart is a household name around the world. It is one of the world’s biggest retail brands, with 230 million customers going to the store in one week globally. In this article, we will discuss the Walmart marketing strategy.

In the year 2022, Walmart had a huge incoming revenue of over 572 billion USD till now and saw an increase of 3.54% in profits from the year 2021.

The retail brand of Walmart is no longer limited to the US. It has become a global sensation with an estimated 11000 stores worldwide. This massive success and growth do not come out of sheer luck or chances.

There is a complete strategy at play to push the company beyond borders.

Number of Walmart stores worldwide from fiscal year 2008 to 2022. Source: statista.com

The 7 strategies you need to remember

With a careful mix of 4Ps and other tactics, Walmart has a solid marketing strategy that can provide highly valuable lessons for all companies.

Let’s break this enigmatic success shroud of this global giant and understand some top ways the Walmart marketing strategy is fruitful. Keep reading.

1. Involve the stakeholders in the process

One of the biggest reasons for Walmart’s stability and success is the dedicated associates working tirelessly to provide a better customer experience.

Walmart understands better that if employees are not involved in a company’s success, it can be hard to strengthen the roots and take the brand forward. All the workers need to be committed to the company.

A great way to do it is by giving the employees a stake in the company. If the company’s success is directly linked to the employees’ success, they won’t work as if it is only their job; rather, they will put in honest efforts to breed successful practices.

Employees are also the link between the company and the customers . They deal with the people who come in to buy something or have any queries.

So, employees need to be one of the company’s top priorities. Walmart doesn’t just hire people and leave them to do their daily assigned tasks. The retailer ensures that employees are a central part of the process.

Walmart Marketing strategy. Image source: walmart.com

2. Fishing for new target markets

A great thing to learn from the Walmart marketing strategy is that you should never rely on a business path; if there is an opportunity to grow , take it.

Walmart became hugely successful back home in the US, but this did not become a reason for it to stop right there and become complacent.

Instead, Walmart knows most domestic markets in the US have now become saturated. The population of the US only makes up a small portion of the world population.

Staying in the US alone meant missing out on more than 90 percent of the global population. When Walmart reached a pinnacle in the existing market, it was time to go fishing.

As a part of the Walmart marketing strategy, the company went global, opening stores in other attractive markets like Europe. Currently, Walmart has stores in more than 24 countries worldwide, with over 11000 of them.

Walmart’s international strategy might not have been supported at first, but currently, it contributes to a major portion of Walmart’s total revenue.

3. Adapting to the latest tech advancements

Another feather in the company’s hat is the quick adaption to the latest tech trends and incorporation of them into the Walmart marketing strategy.

Physical stores are slowly vanishing from the business scene. They are still a major part of the shopping experience, but people rapidly switch to online shopping or eCommerce mode, especially after the pandemic.

Several companies over the years completely deteriorated or saw a striking downfall after they refused to change with the changing technological environment and infrastructure of the businesses.

The Walmart marketing strategy pushes the company to adapt and try new tech advancements. As a result, Walmart is no longer just a physical retailer and wholesaler; it also has an eCommerce system where customers can buy stuff from the brand online.

You can still visit a physical store if you want to, but if you need to get something delivered to your home, Walmart is also at the forefront.

Are you enjoying this content on the Walmart marketing strategy? You may also want to read these:

• SWOT Analysis of Costco: 4 Important Takeaways
• SWOT Analysis of Target: Everything You Need to Know in 2022

4. The distribution and location strategy of Walmart

The distribution and location portion of the Walmart marketing strategy is also highly successful and practical. Ensuring the best location and distribution strategy involves incorporating the best technology to build optimal processes.

Besides having a very strong eCommerce platform, Walmart has strategically located distribution centers so the stores can pick up the orders from these centers and deliver them on time to the end customer.

This strategy applies not just to the distribution centers but also the physical outlets. The stores worldwide, especially in the US, are located at some of the best points, so the deliveries and orders can be sent to the customers on time.

The company also has a great transport system with huge trucks responsible for bringing orders to the customer’s door.

Moreover, having a great distribution strategy also involves keeping a tight track of the inventories, so the company knows beforehand when certain products are not in-store or on their way.

5. The famous pricing strategy

The biggest and major part of the competitiveness of the Walmart marketing strategy is the slogan that the company runs on – Everyday Low Prices. The retail industry is a very crowded, and Walmart has managed to come out at the top by being a cost leader.

This cost leadership in the retail industry means that Walmart is focused on and promotes selling products for the lowest possible prices. Customer loyalty and conversion is not their main concern.

Walmart wants to attract the biggest crowd of customers to the store with its streamlined process of shopping.

The massive sales of the company offset the low prices in the store. Walmart sells in bulk, so it can also profit from low-priced products. The company is brilliant at negotiating deals with suppliers to get the most affordable prices for the store, which has allowed the brand to keep true to its slogan.

Moreover, several product categories are being sold in the store. This diversification of the products ensures that different categories balance each other out. So, if one of the products is not doing well, the other one will do more than expected sales.

For bigger purchases, Walmart has a few different payment plans available, so customers don’t have to spend a huge amount all at once.

6. Big promotional gestures to stay at the forefront

The Walmart marketing strategy is big on promotion. The brand promotes everywhere. It has marketing strategies for TVs, social media, billboards, PR, newspapers, magazines, and more.

Walmart runs ads on different platforms and via different channels with irresistible slogans like “ Grab it before it’s done .”

The brand almost always has some discounts, deals, or special offers running in ads. These are available for physical stores as well as online shopping. Coupon codes are also offered occasionally.

To find them, visit the brand’s website, subscribe to newsletters, or use coupon websites, apps, and social media. Browser extensions and online forums are also helpful resources. Once you have a code, apply it during checkout by copying and pasting it into the designated field. Be aware of expiration dates and terms. Not all stores offer coupon codes for every purchase. 

Selecting an appropriate couponing site or portal is crucial to efficiently locating valuable discounts and deals. When choosing such a platform, prioritize its reputation and reliability.

Ensure it offers a diverse range of coupons for various products and retailers and is user-friendly, with efficient search and filter options. It should regularly update its coupon listings, remove expired codes, and ideally have mobile accessibility for convenient shopping.  

Look for sites that offer email alerts or newsletters to remain updated on the latest deals. Evaluate the site’s security and privacy practices, avoiding those that request excessive personal information or charge membership fees.

Additionally, explore additional features like cashback rewards or price comparison tools to see if they align with your shopping preferences. Always review the terms and conditions and consider testing and comparing multiple couponing sites to determine the best fit for your needs and brands you frequently purchase from.

Moreover, the company does not only have a striking social media presence. It also advertises in newspapers and on TV.

Press releases are sent out to inform people of significant changes. A part of the Walmart marketing strategy is to sponsor charities. The philanthropic activities promote the company name in goodwill and as a socially responsible brand.

There are also long warranties and security for purchases with safe shipping, which builds customers’ trust. An in-person promotion is certainly happening when the customer comes to the store. There are trained salespeople that encourage and convince the customers to buy stuff.

7. A one-stop destination for all needs

This is another big magnet for people and a central part of Walmart marketing strategy. Walmart has grown to become a one-stop destination for people. This tugs at the convenience-seeking strings of customers.

Instead of having to go to different shops for various purchases, Walmart has a roundup of all essential items like back-to-school, college things, home décor, electronics, utensils, appliances, and more. Some white-label items are not available in any other store.

All this has been possible because Walmart has strong ties with the suppliers and distributors.

People can not only find all they are looking for at Walmart, but they can also get them at discounted prices. This is especially easy for families with little kids who cannot switch stores for every little thing.

A one-stop destination for all needs: Walmart marketing strategy.

A huge portion of the target segment is attracted to Walmart just by carrying diversified products under one roof.

Walmart Marketing Strategy – End Note

It is common for businesses to try to become all at once. The Walmart marketing strategy has successfully been able to play to its strengths. The reason for the success of Walmart is straightforward branding.

They wanted to become leaders in best prices , so they aligned all their marketing mixes with cutting costs and improving sales.

Branding is a center piece of marketing strategy. A business should have a definite quality or an attribute based on which the company will begin promotions.

If you are looking to grow as a company, choose how you want to brand yourself in front of the customers, and the rest of the marketing tactics will fall into place.

Thank you for taking the time to ready my article on the Walmart Marketing strategy! If you want to read more on Marketing strategies, you can also check these articles:

• Starbucks Marketing Strategy: Selling 4 Million Coffees Daily
• Tesla Marketing Strategy: 10 Curious Things To Know

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Walmart Update, 2019

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Full Marketing Mix of Walmart with Updated Company Overview and Explanations

By Aditya Shastri

Some brands have grown exponentially since their inception. Walmart is one of them. How did they manage it? What did they do to increase their customer base? What did they do to keep their consumers coming back? We think  Walmart’s Marketing Strategy played a significant part in all this, especially its digital marketing strategy. This article analyses a few digital marketing strategies used by the company and the Marketing Mix of Walmart to better understand 4 strategies – pricing, products, placing/distribution and promotion so that you can get an insight into what they have been doing.

About Walmart

Walmart is one of the most well-known multinational retailers. Sam Walton created the company in 1962, and it was incorporated in 1969. The Walton family owns and controls the firm, which is located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart has over 11,500 retail locations in 28 countries and 11 e-commerce sites. Hypermarkets, discount stores, and department stores are all part of the retail corporation’s operations.

The brand maintains its highest position with its efficiency, strong logistics, and supply chain management. Walmart initially started as a physical retail outlet, and later moved to e-retail in 2000. The company is known for its consistently low prices and also utilizes a highly customer-centric approach. 

According to the Fortune Global 500 list, the firm was declared as the largest company by revenue. It has plans of rooting its operations across the globe and continuing to become the biggest retailer. 

What’s new with Walmart?

Here’s what was buzzing around Walmart recently:

• Walmart Plus Week 2023: Walmart Plus Week is a week-long sales event for Walmart Plus members, with exclusive discounts on a wide range of products.
• Walmart GoLocal: Walmart GoLocal is a delivery service that delivers groceries and other items from Walmart stores to customers’ doorsteps.
• Walmart Drone Delivery: Walmart is testing drone delivery for groceries and other items in select markets.
• Walmart InHome Delivery: Walmart InHome Delivery is a service that delivers groceries and other items directly to customers’ refrigerators.
• Walmart Health & Wellness: Walmart is expanding its healthcare offerings, including opening new Walmart Health centers and offering more telehealth services.
• Walmart Financial Services: Walmart is expanding its financial services offerings, including offering more banking and lending options.
• Walmart Advertising: Walmart is expanding its advertising platform, offering businesses more ways to reach Walmart customers.
• Walmart Marketplace: Walmart Marketplace is a third-party marketplace where sellers can sell their products on Walmart.com.
• Walmart Fulfillment Services: Walmart Fulfillment Services is a service that helps businesses fulfill their online orders.
• Walmart eCommerce: Walmart is investing in its eCommerce business, including expanding its online selection and improving its delivery options.
• Walmart Sustainability: Walmart is committed to sustainability, and is working to reduce its environmental impact and operate more sustainably.

Let’s now understand the target audience of Walmart better with the help of a buyer persona.

Buyer Persona of Walmart

A buyer persona generally refers to the detailed information of an ideal customer of a company. When it comes to Walmart, people from India use it the most. This buyer persona will help you understand the attributes of a regular Walmart user.

Buyer’s Persona

Houston, Texas

Profession:

Construction Project Manager

• Value for Money
• Convenience and Time Efficiency
• Family Well-Being
• Sustainability

Interest & Hobbies

• Home Improvement

Pain Points

• Checkout Wait Times
• Product Availability
• Crowded Aisles
• Limited Product Variety

Social Media Presence

From the table above we can conclude that an ideal Walmart User is motivated by value for money, convenience, family well-being, and sustainability, with interests in home improvement, sports, grilling, and gardening.

Want to know about the current challenges of Walmart? Read a detailed SWOT Analysis of the brand before moving on with marketing strategies.

Let’s start discussing the main segment of this case study – The marketing Mix of Walmart below. 

Marketing Mix of Walmart

A marketing mix is a tool that contains a set of actions that a company uses to promote its brand or product in the market. The 4Ps make a traditional set of the marketing mix – Price, Product, Promotion, and Place. However, nowadays, the marketing mix increasingly includes several other Ps like People, Process, and Physical Evidence as mix elements. 

Overall, we will be exploring the 7Ps marketing mix of Walmart to know about its distinctive and noteworthy techniques in popularizing its business in this competitive era. Let’s gander about it in the coming section. 

1. Product Strategy of Walmart

As an international retailer, Walmart carries any product or brand that a customer might encounter in his daily life. Movies, crafts, presents, college supplies, electrical items, home appliances, jewellery, toys, outdoor living, funeral, food, video games, and many other product categories are among the numerous available.

Walmart also has seasonal categories, such as costumes for Halloween parties. Under Electronics & Office, you’ll find Wearable Tech, Cell phones, Tablets, Computers, Home automation, Office supplies, Music videos, TV shows, songs, and books; under Music & Books, you’ll find Bedding, Home décor, furniture, Kitchen & Dining, Vacuum & Floorcare, Patio Gardens. Heating and cooling equipment, paints, wallpapers, garage eq uipment, and other items are included in the Home Improvement category. As a result, this provides insight into Walmart’s marketing mix product strategy.

Walmart has a wide range of products and they can be brought either online, or offline which makes it feasible for the customers. Now let’s look into the pricing strategy of Walmart. 

2. Price Strategy of Walmart

Walmart’s business strategy does not entail product manufacture; instead, it buys things in enormous numbers from all over the world to take advantage of economies of scale. As a result, Walmart may offer products at a 15% discount compared to other merchants. Walmart employs a variety of pricing techniques to capture the attention of customers and force them to purchase discount strategies.

The terms “Always cheap pricing” and “Everyday low prices” were invented by Sam Walton, and they refer to the fact that each product is offered at a different discount price depending on the time and demand of the hour. In comparison to other merchants, consumer electronics are offered at a relatively low price.

As its tagline says, Walmart provides the product at low and reasonable prices which is accessible to many people throughout the world. So, let’s quickly dive into the distribution strategy of Walmart.

3. Place & Distribution Strategy of Walmart

Walmart runs more than 10,020 retail locations in 28 countries under 60 different banners. It sells brick and mortar (conventional stores) as well as brick and click (e-commerce). Each Walmart store is more than a million square feet on average. Walmart’s retail activities are divided into the following categories: 

• Walmart discount stores
• Walmart supercenters
• Walmart neighbourhood markets
• Walmart Express stores

Walmart has around 4600 US stores, 650 Sam’s Club stores, and 6200 international stores. Vendors who are retail store suppliers distribute directly to stores as part of the distribution strategy. The products are delivered to the stores in large quantities. Walmart has around 150 distribution centres that use cross-docking techniques.

Walmart employs the hub and spoke approach, in which commodities are ordered centrally and then distributed to individual stores. A fleet of 6,100 tractors, 61,000 trailers, and more than 7,800 drivers are used to convey the goods.

Now we’ve got the idea of how Walmart distributes its products all across the world. Let’s get into the section of marketing mix called promotional Strategy in the coming section. 

4. Promotional Strategy of Walmart

Walmart has its in-store promotional activities, such as product bundling and pricing schemes, which include sales promos. Customers who place online gifts bring in a lot of money for Walmart’s online store. Walmart’s pricing techniques, such as “Everyday low prices” and “Value of the Day,” improve sales turnover. 

Customers are enticed to the online store with appealing slogans such as “Grab it before it’s gone,” which encourages them to make a purchase decision as soon as possible before the bargains expire. 

So, attractive slogans are one of the strategies used by Walmart. Now, let’s peek into the marketing mix of Walmart namely People.

5. People Strategy of Walmart

Walmart is a multinational corporation that places a strong emphasis on its employees. Employees and staff are a valuable asset to Walmart because they are the ones that deal with all consumer inquiries in the stores. Walmart’s employees are well-trained and enthusiastic about serving their clients. Walmart employs about 2 million people worldwide, with around 1.5 million in the United States. Walmart attempts to clinch the deal.

Thus, Walmart has a quite large audience. Now let’s try to get into the marketing mix of Walmart called the process. 

6. Process Strategy of Walmart

Walmart’s processes are incredibly efficient, allowing customers to buy with ease. Having readily available trolleys, systematic product arrangement and categorization, several payment stations, and various ways of payment are all part of the process. Walmart’s backend procedures, such as sourcing, warehousing, and distribution, serve as a model for the retail business.

Let’s now explore the last marketing mix section of Walmart – Physical Evidence below. 

7. Physical Evidence Strategy of Walmart

Walmart’s physical presence may be found in over 11000 locations throughout the world. Every store has a variety of product categories, as well as effective product positioning. Walmart also has various offices around the world, which contributes to the brand’s worth.

Hence, this concludes the entire Walmart marketing mix.  Let’s wrap up the case study of Walmart with a conclusion.

How does Walmart use digital marketing in their strategy 

1. search engine optimisation.

Samsung has put a lot of effort into SEO.

As per Ubersuggest data, it ranks in India for 74,117,749 keywords as of September 2023. Its organic traffic is 668,427,267 sessions per month. The stats are almost similar to their SEO performance in April 2023. 

Here are some of their Search Engine Optimisation techniques :

Samsung gets backlinks from 196,267,514 unique domains. All this increases the Domain Authority of Samsung’s domain and helps it rank higher .

2. Social Media Marketing

Walmart is active on a variety of social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. The company uses social media to connect with its customers, promote its products and services, and provide customer support.

Walmart’s social media marketing strategy is focused on creating engaging content that is relevant to its target audience. The company posts a variety of content on its social media channels, including:

• Product announcements and reviews
• Behind-the-scenes photos and videos
• Tips and tutorials
• Contests and giveaways
• User-generated content

Walmart also uses social media to listen to its customers and respond to their feedback. This helps Walmart to understand its customers’ needs and wants, and to improve its products and services.

Here are some specific examples of Walmart’s social media marketing campaigns:

• #WalmartWednesdays: Walmart uses the #WalmartWednesdays hashtag to promote its weekly deals and promotions on social media. This hashtag allows Walmart to reach a wider audience and to generate buzz around its weekly sales.
• Walmart TikTok Challenge: Walmart recently launched the #WalmartChallenge on TikTok, encouraging users to create videos of themselves shopping at Walmart. This challenge has been very popular, with over 100 million views on TikTok.
• Walmart YouTube Channel: Walmart’s YouTube channel features a variety of content, including product reviews, cooking tutorials, and behind-the-scenes videos. Walmart uses its YouTube channel to connect with its customers and to provide them with valuable content.

Walmart’s social media marketing strategy is effective because it is focused on creating engaging content and connecting with its audience. Walmart uses a variety of social media channels to reach a wide audience and to create a community around its brand.

In addition to the above, Walmart also uses social media to:

• Promote its CSR initiatives
• Partner with influencers to promote its products and services
• Run paid advertising campaigns

Walmart’s social media marketing strategy is a key part of its overall marketing strategy. By using social media to connect with its audience, promote its products and services, and provide customer support, Walmart is able to build brand loyalty and drive sales.

Top Competitors of Walmart 

Here’s the list of top competitors of Walmart:

As we wrap up our analysis of Walmart’s impressive digital marketing strategy, it’s clear that staying up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques is key to success in the digital marketing world.

Whether you’re a marketing professional or just starting out, be sure to check out our free digital marketing masterclass to gain a solid foundation in the essentials of digital marketing.

Who knows, you might just develop the next big marketing strategy like Walmart’s! Don’t forget to share your thoughts and comments on Walmart’s strategy in the comments below.

Author's Note: My name is Aditya Shastri and I have written this case study with the help of my students from IIDE's online digital marketing courses in India . Practical assignments, case studies & simulations helped the students from this course present this analysis. Building on this practical approach, we are now introducing a new dimension for our online digital marketing course learners - the Campus Immersion Experience. If you found this case study helpful, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs...... [Read full bio]

I never new that Walmart uses such beautiful digital marketing trends and techniques. It was really amazing and informative blog.

Walmart is using the 7ps marketing mix strategy where it always change time to time to update themselves for competing with others.

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Walmart Case Study: Partnerships and Digital Marketing

While Amazon has recently overtaken Walmart when it comes to overall sales , the US based retailer still holds the accolade of being the world’s largest company by revenue [although Amazon is predicted to claim this title by 2024], one which it has held for many years.

However, Walmart is not one to be usurped from its long-held throne without a fight and has recently been making ground back against its ecommerce focused rival. Through a combination of omnichannel innovation and intelligent digital marketing, Walmart is continuing to prove that legacy brands still have a place in this rapidly evolving and digitally focused retail landscape.

This would seem a prime opportunity therefore to peek behind the scenes at the retail giant and attempt to unpick just what continues to make its offering so appealing to customers and see if we can distil any lessons which can help make our own retail ventures more efficient and effective.

Social Media

Like any brand worth its salt today Walmart knows how to make the most of its various social media channels to boost its profile online and get its brand messaging out to an engaged and active audience.

In 2022, a big part of mastering social media is leveraging the power of new media to reach new audiences and demographics. For those who are unaware, by new media we mean influencers – prominent social media celebrities which have the power to reach hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users and influence their decision-making process when it comes to making purchases.

Walmart presently works with select influencers and leverages their platforms to promote groceries, apparel, and its Walmart+ loyalty program. Affiliate links shared on platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok allow influencers to earn a commission whenever a customer makes a purchase after viewing their content.

Now it seems Walmart is seeking to take its influencer program a step further. In July 2022, the company filed for trademarks on Walmart Creator and Walmart Creator Collective. This seems to point towards Walmart launching a digital platform that will use social media influencers to help the retailer and its 100,000 third-party sellers promote their goods and services online more effectively than previously possible.

Walmart has declined to comment on the filing, but all signs point towards Walmart Creator taking the form of a social media consulting service which will help train social media stars on how to become better influencers.

Walmart Connect

Another method Walmart uses to spread its influence around the digital sphere is through its Walmart Connect advertising platform.

"Walmart is America’s largest retailer, serving 90% of U.S. households and employing over 1.5 million associates nationwide,” says the company website. "With Walmart Connect, we’re building on that success to bring customers and advertising partners together like never before.”

Walmart Connect helps third-party suppliers by linking their marketing with Walmart’s and potentially exposing them to a vastly larger audience than they would otherwise be able to reach. The closed-loop and automated system uses customer behavior data to help target Walmart customers with advertising in a more intelligent manner than would otherwise be possible.

Now, Walmart has outlined plans to expand the Walmart Connect integration by focusing on premium advertising experiences.

As part of the expansion, Walmart will begin testing on-site video ads, as well as developing new advertising protocols for TV and video. The program will also involve omnichannel experiences inside Walmart stores which are set to include advertising on self-service checkout screens, display and wall TVs, special in-store events, and sampling.

"Meaningful connections happen can occur in a number of ways: In one of our stores, on our app or website, across the internet or even on social media,” said the company in a blog post . "Customers can discover and purchase new products through our search and native display ads, or through creative in-store or social experiences. For example, football fans on TikTok may have seen our #GetTheWChallenge to inspire their shopping for the Big Game. During the holidays, customers discovered new products through Walmart’s Gift Finder AR experience or purchased ingredients through co-created shoppable Pinterest recipes.”

Partnerships

Despite being the largest company in the world, Walmart still understands the value of making strategic partnerships to better serve its customers and stakeholders. To this end, the company has established several such partnerships, each with a specific goal or purpose in mind.

• Instacart: Helps Walmart remain a leader in the eGrocer space by enabling same-day and two-hour express delivery.
• Shopify: Expands the online marketplace penetration of Walmart and helps customers access small and medium brand and products which are made in the USA.
• TikTok: By far the most popular social network among GenZ and allows Walmart to reach this cohort in a location where they spend significant amounts of time.
• FedEx: Enables Walmart to facilitate a hassle-free and convenient returns service by collecting unwanted products from customers’ homes.
• Home Depot: Improves Walmart’s capabilities in the home category by leveraging the brand’s robust delivery network.
• Netflix: Gives Walmart the ability to tap into enthusiastic and engaged fandoms to promote merchandise based on popular franchises.

As you can see, each partnership has been established to achieve an objective. Nothing is done frivolously. Partnering with outside agencies gives Walmart the ability to strengthen certain elements of its business which feed directly into customer experience, or access new markets and demographics it may otherwise struggle to engage with. For example, GenZ people may view Walmart as their parents’ store, but if it is able to engage them on their own level on TikTok, it can demonstrate what it has to offer younger people as well.

Virtual Reality and the Metaverse

Anyone who follows tech news closely enough will remember the video which circled around at the beginning of 2022 which claimed to show how Walmart envisioned shopping in a virtual environment will be.

Despite being a demo from 2017, the tech on display is not wildly different from the current efforts being shown off by Zuckerberg et al regarding the Metaverse project. While some commentators seemingly love the idea of a libertarian Web 3.0 environment where the internet is no longer owned by no one, but rather has been separated off into separate fiefdoms by enormous tech conglomerates, some are less excited at the prospect.

The main issue with the metaverse and Walmart’s vision of virtual reality shopping is that is doesn’t provide a more convenient experience than current ecommerce and social media interactions do. Customers want to be able to quickly pop online, order a product, check their socials, and then get on with their day, not strap themselves into a VR setup and mess around with cumbersome controls to achieve the same end result.

Technology should always be seeking to solve a problem, not create a bunch of new ones. Walmart’s demo of VR shopping may be interesting from a purely conceptual perspective, but it seems unlikely customers would ever choose this option versus getting out a smartphone and completing the task with a few swipes of their thumb.

Walmart hasn’t announced any plans to implement VR technology in this manner, but we think it provides an elegant cautionary tale for retailers in the digital space to always consider what problems need solving and what customers actually want from an ecommerce experience – instead of what massive tech companies think is cool.

Final Thoughts

Walmart has worn the crown of largest businesses for such a long time for good reason and as we take this journey through its marketing strategy it’s easy to see why. It seems what will make the difference when it comes to Walmart’s future position in the industry will come down to how well it is able to continue on this solid trajectory and not get distracted by unnecessary bells and whistles such as the Metaverse.

Walmart is sure to be part of the conversation at eTail West 2023 , being held in February and March at the JW Marriott Desert Springs, Palm Springs, CA.

Download the agenda today for more information and insights.

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Walmart PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis & Recommendations

Walmart’s remote environment or macro-environment involves factors that determine the company’s success. These factors are best presented through the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis model. As a retail industry leader, Walmart continues to withstand the potential negative effects of threats in the political, economic, sociocultural, technological, ecological, and legal (PESTEL/PESTLE) aspects of its business. However, this success requires continued evaluation of the retail industry environment. These PESTEL/PESTLE factors also change over time, thereby imposing challenges for Walmart. These changes may present threats or opportunities. The retail company must exploit the opportunities and protect itself from threats. In using the PESTEL analysis, Walmart leaders and managers can determine which factors to prioritize in strategy development.

The external factors in the remote or macro-environment of Walmart, based on the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis, indicate the need for strategic focus on economic, sociocultural, and ecological concerns. Strategic formulation based on Walmart’s mission statement and vision statement is designed to target the trends identified in this PESTEL analysis.

Political Factors

Walmart considers political factors in the retail market, usually pertaining to government policies. In the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis model, politically active interest groups are also significant. The following are the political external factors in Walmart’s remote/macro environment:

• High stability of politics (opportunity)
• Political support for globalization (opportunity)
• Political pressure for higher wages (threat)

The remote/macro-environmental factors show that the retail business must address the threat of higher wages. This is a threat because it goes against the cost minimization essential in Walmart’s cost leadership generic competitive strategy .

Economic Factors

Walmart is under significant pressure from economic changes. Any such change leads to changes in the company’s revenues. Based on the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis model, the following are the economic external factors in Walmart’s remote/macro environment:

• Stability of major economies (opportunity)
• Continued growth of developing countries (opportunity)
• Decreasing unemployment in the United States (opportunity)

All these economic factors show that Walmart should exploit opportunities around the world. Emphasis should be on the fast-growing economies of developing countries, which have increasing demand for goods from retail firms.

Social/Sociocultural Factors

The social or sociocultural factors in the business environment of Walmart influence consumer perception and preferences. In the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis model, the following are the social or sociocultural external factors in Walmart’s remote/macro environment:

• Healthy lifestyle trend (opportunity)
• Cultural diversity trend (opportunity)
• Urban migration (opportunity)

These social/sociocultural factors present opportunities for Walmart. The company can increase its array of healthy products. Walmart can also increase the variety of its products to satisfy various cultural preferences. Moreover, the company can adjust its strategies to exploit increasing consumer demand in cities and surrounding areas.

Technological Factors

Walmart needs to address technological trends. In the context of the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis model, technologies affect the retail industry’s competitive landscape. The following are the technological external factors in Walmart’s remote/macro environment:

• Increasing business automation (opportunity)
• Business analytics or big data (opportunity)
• Increasing mobile device usage among consumers (opportunity)

Walmart can increase its investment in all three factors. In exploiting the opportunity in mobile device usage of customers, the company must boost its online presence. Online marketing and online selling increase Walmart’s revenues.

Ecological/Environmental Factors

The ecological or environmental factors significant in Walmart’s business pertain to environmental conservation concerns. Environmental conservation is now a popular principle. The following are the ecological external factors in Walmart’s remote/macro environment in the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis model:

• Business sustainability trend (opportunity)
• Environmentally friendly products trend (opportunity)

To attain business sustainability, Walmart must improve operational efficiency. Technological innovation helps improve efficiency in business. Improved policies and standards on products sold at its retail stores can also strengthen the company in addressing these ecological factors.

Legal Factors

Walmart is subject to the requirements of laws and regulations. Based on the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis model, these external factors usually impose limits on retail firms. The following are the legal external factors in Walmart’s remote/macro environment:

• Food safety regulations (opportunity)
• Employment regulations (opportunity)
• Tax law reform (threat)

Tax reform is a potential threat if it leads to higher tax rates. Walmart must take food safety regulations as an opportunity to improve quality standards. Also, enhancing human resource management practices can exploit opportunities concerning employment regulations relevant to the retail business.

Recommendations – PESTLE/PESTEL Analysis of Walmart

This PESTLE analysis of Walmart shows that the company has more opportunities than threats in its remote/macro environment. The external factors present significant opportunities. The firm must take a proactive approach to address threats. However, the company’s efforts must focus on exploiting the opportunities identified in the retail business environment. Based on the PESTEL/PESTLE analysis, Walmart can improve HR management practices, boost investments in technology, enhance quality standards, and expand its business worldwide.

• Paulino, E. P. (2022). Amplifying organizational performance from business intelligence: Business analytics implementation in the retail industry. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 18 (2), 69-104.
• Phan, S. (2021). The effect of PESTLE factors on development of e-commerce. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 5 (1), 37-42.
• U.S. Department of Commerce – International Trade Administration – Retail Trade Industry .
• U.S. Department of Labor – Summary of the Major Laws of the Department of Labor .
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Retail Food Protection .
• Walmart Inc. – Form 10-K .
• Walmart’s E-commerce Website .
• Wang, B. (2023). Is Walmart the same as ten years ago? A non-parametric difference-in-differences analysis of Walmart development. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 99 , 103863.
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Walmart Releases First Annual State of Adaptive Retail Report

July 23, 2024

Press Center

The retail landscape has undergone dramatic changes over the past decade, and we are now stepping into a new era of retail – Adaptive Retail. Simply put, Adaptive Retail is an evolved form of retail that brings shopping to the customer in exactly the way they want and need. It goes beyond blending the best of online and offline to adapting experiences based on an understanding of the deeper context behind the purchase, all to meet unique consumer habits and preferences.

"We’re in a new era of retail defined by profoundly personal shopping experiences. Each shopper defines how, where and when they obtain goods, and context is key. The Why behind the purchase. Retailers must predict shoppers’ needs, reduce decision-making and enable highly personal experiences. Future retail success depends on how well we anticipate and meet these evolving expectations."

Suresh Kumar, Global Chief Technology Officer and Chief Development Officer, Walmart Inc.

To dive deeper, we commissioned Morning Consult to conduct a survey of more than 2,200 U.S. shoppers to gauge their current and future expectations. The goal was to gain a comprehensive understanding of Adaptive Retail today and a glimpse into the future of retail.

This year’s survey brought to light four key trends, each one pointing toward one overarching insight: Retailers that can proactively predict individual customer needs, offer personalized suggestions and deliver at exactly the right moment are the ones who will succeed. Adaptability, immediate accessibility and custom “do it for me” experiences will no longer be longer luxuries; they are absolute necessities.

“Advancements in technologies like augmented reality and artificial intelligence are transforming how consumers engage with retailers,” said Richard Kowalski, Sr. Director, Business Intelligence at Consumer Technology Association, who reviewed the report before publication. “The latest research from Walmart and Morning Consults shows that consumers have high expectations for how technology will improve their shopping experiences in the future. Retailers that use technology to provide consumers with more personalized shopping journeys that seamlessly integrate into their lifestyles are the ones who will win in this Adaptive Retail era.”

While this year’s report provides a variety of insights, this study is a snapshot of Adaptive Retail as it stands today, capturing a single point in time. Customer preferences are ever changing, which is what makes this innovative approach to retail more powerful.

As consumers evolve, so must our strategies. The strength of Adaptive Retail lies in its ability to shape itself to these fluctuations, ensuring it remains relevant and effective in meeting customer expectations.

At home, abroad, working, interning?  Wherever you are this summer, contact OCS or make an appointment for a virtual advising session. We are available all summer! 

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Research: Smaller, More Precise Discounts Could Increase Your Sales

• Dinesh Gauri,
• Abhijit Guha,
• Abhijit Biswas,
• Subhash Jha

Why bigger discounts don’t necessarily attract more customers.

Retailers might think that bigger discounts attract more customers. But new research suggests that’s not always true. Sometimes, a smaller discount that looks more precise — say 6.8% as compared to 7% — can make people think the deal won’t last long, and they’ll buy more. In a series of nine experimental studies involving around 2,000 individuals considering online or retail purchases of a variety of products, the authors found precise discount depths — the difference between the original and sale price — can increase purchase intentions by up to 21%.

Discounts are an important promotional tactic retailers use to drive sales. So much so that discounts were a major factor for three out of four U.S. online shoppers in 2023 , luring consumers away from shopping at other retailers, getting them to increase their basket size, and convincing them to make purchases they otherwise wouldn’t. Discounts have a particularly strong impact on food purchases, where 90% of consumers reported stocking up on groceries when they were on sale .

• DG Dinesh Gauri is a professor and Walmart chair in the department of marketing at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He is also the executive director of retail information at the Walton College. His research and teaching interests include retailing, pricing, marketing analytics, retail media, e-commerce and social media marketing. He advises for various companies in these areas and is a recognized leader in marketing.
• AG Abhijit Guha is an associate professor in the department of marketing at the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. His research and teaching interests include retailing, pricing, and artificial intelligence.
• AB Abhijit Biswas is the Kmart endowed chair and professor of marketing, chair of the department of marketing, and distinguished faculty fellow at the Mike Ilitch School of Business, Wayne State University. His research and teaching interests include retailing, pricing and advertising. He has published over a hundred articles, majority of which are in academic journals including the Journal of Marketing , Journal of Marketing Research , etc.
• SJ Subhash Jha is an associate professor of marketing at the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at the University of Memphis. His research and teaching interests include retailing, pricing, online reviews and role of haptic cues.

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