Walmart has updated its website and app with a new look to accommodate bigger and glossier photos, videos and social media-inspired content. The American multinational retail corporation wants to make shopping online easier and more engaging.
Tom Ward, Walmart’s chief e-commerce officier, believes that when you walk into a store, you get inspired and excited by what you see. Walmart wants to drive the same inspiration and excitement in its app. The retailer’s online makeover comes after it realized that consumers are becoming more reluctant to buy discretionary merchandise, like clothing and consumer electronics, while paying higher prices for necessities like food and housing.
Walmart’s sales, in recent quarters, have increasingly come from groceries, rather than general merchandise. John David Rainey, Walmart CFO, believes consumers’ more budget-conscious mentality factored into the company’s outlook for this year. Besides expecting weaker sales in the months ahead, Walmart anticipates same-store sales for Walmart US to increase between 2% and 2.5% in the fiscal year ahead. It forecasted adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal year will range from $5.90 to $6.05, excluding fuel. This would represent a drop from the past fiscal year, when same-store sales grew 6.6% for Walmart US, and adjusted earnings per share were $6.29.
Ward said there’s lots of wants and needs conversations going around. He shared that Walmart wants to catch customers’ attention by putting fresh, trendy and seasonal items in front of them, such as spring dresses, patio furniture and toys for Easter baskets. In regards to the app’s new look, the executive said it could also life sales for third-party sellers that have joined or could join Walmart’s marketplace.
