New technologies were introduced by Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart
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McMillon stressed that Walmart’s purpose is to invest in technology to help people live better than ever, and advances in technology these days make it feel like anything is possible. He went on to say, “Our technology roadmap is compelling, and we are very excited about it, but we’re clear that we are a people led, tech powered company.”
Here are some of the products he revealed:
1. A new Gen-AI powered search experience is now available to IOS customers. The enhanced search experience allows customers to search by specific use cases rather than just search for individual products. For example, this tool makes it easy for a customer to conduct an aggregated search for a football watch party versus individual searches for chips, wings, drinks, and the 90-inch TV that are key to a successful party. This new tool also generates relevant cross-category results.
2. A sneak peek into Walmart In-home replenishment, which uses AI and Walmart’s deep replenishment expertise to ensure customers’ online shopping carts are filled with the right items at the right time and delivered into a refrigerator in a kitchen or garage on a reliable basis.
3. A beta social commerce platform called ‘Shop with Friends’ that takes VR (Virtual Reality) shopping to the next level by enabling customers to share the virtual outfits they create with friends and get feedback on their fashion finds.
All of these new tools enable Walmart to create more personal and flexible shopping experiences.
Omni channel shopping options have been around for decades, but adaptive retail is new, and takes the shopping experience a step further. To hear Suresh Kumar, global chief technology officer and chief development officer of Walmart Inc. describe it: “it’s a retail that is not only e-commerce or in-store, but a single, unified retail experience that seamlessly blends the best aspect of all channels.” For Walmart, he sees adaptive retail is rooted in a clear focus on people.
Sam’s Club was used to effectively test the concepts. The practical applications worked and will now roll out more broadly. Walmart also announced that it has expanded drone delivery to 1.8 million additional households. This action was taken to compete with Amazon’s
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It is also worth noting that its 2.1 million associates are also directly benefiting from the Walmart technology investments. The company has provided associates with tools, among them a tool called My Assistant, which Is changing how associates work and helps them manage workload and solve some of their problems.
POSTSCRIPT: Walmart has changed. Traditional systems and priorities have been reexamined to enhance service, speed deliveries to customers, and do so more efficiently. It is adapting many of the new tech developments, using public information and AI applications to its advantage. It does not have to be the first company to use technology, but it is committed to taking advantage of proven concepts to improve its shopping experience.
This strategy will move the company miles ahead of competition, and the tests in Sam’s Clubs will soon be visible in Walmart’s Superstores.
The slogan, ‘We build technology to serve people, not the other way around’ shows how management deliberately waited for the facts to become clearer and results more transparent. Walmart waited for the technology to firm up and is now ready to move forward.
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