Walmart news 

Walmart is set to debut Walmart+ this month. This is the retailer’s new membership programme which will offer a range of benefits including free online delivery, fuel discounts and a contactless checkout and payment experience. Annual fee of $98 Walmart+ will launch on September 15, costing $98 a year or $12.95 per month. The main benefits will be unlimited free delivery for online shopping...

Walmart is in discussions for a joint-bid with Microsoft to acquire the TikTok social media platform. US government prompted sale Earlier this summer, the US government indicated to ByteDance that it would close the platform down unless it was sold to a US-based company by mid-November. Several companies are reported to be interested in acquiring the business. Walmart and Microsoft partnere...

Over the last few weeks, the five major food and grocery retailers in the US have reported their quarterly results. We take a look at what they tell us about the sector more broadly and what suppliers need to do to support their retail customers. The top five Walmart, Kroger, Target, Albertsons and Ahold and Delhaize are a diverse group of retailers. Walmart and Target have extensive non-fo...

South Africa-based, Walmart-owned Massmart has released a sales update and trading statement for the 26 weeks ending 28 June, which highlights the impact of COVID-19 on its performance and its expected loss for the period. Total sales fell 9.7% in H1 2020… Massmart said while it had enjoyed an uptick in sales in June, with total sales rising 0.8% versus the same month in 2019, this was not ...

Summer this year has looked very different to before as social distancing and travelling restrictions impact summer plans. Retailers and brands are addressing the challenges posed by the global pandemic and coming up with innovative solutions and exciting products to help shoppers celebrate summer safely. We explore one of the most prominent trends this summer, staycation. The rise of staycati...

Asda has reported a 3.8% increase in LFL sales for the 3 months to June 30th (excluding fuel), with trading boosted by a doubling of online sales during the trading quarter. Record online sales As well as doubling online grocery sales, sales through click & collect quadrupled during the period, with transactional data showing many customers were new to Asda. This growth was enabled by a 65%...

We review Walmart's second quarter results and its outlook as the business adapts to the new trading environment. Walmart's key numbers Walmart's total revenue in Q2 increased by 5.6% to $137.7bn Operating income increased 8.5% to $6.1bn Sales in its US stores increased by 9.5% to $93.3bn and by 8.8% to $16.4bn at Sam’s Club US comp store sales increased by 9.3%, with average ti...

We look at some of the latest initiatives from the major US grocery retailers, Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons.  Walmart is partnering with Instacart for on-demand deliveries Walmart has partnered with the leading on-demand, crowd-sourced delivery company, Instacart, to offer online grocery deliveries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instacart joins a roster of ...

Having revealed details earlier this summer of its plans to host drive-in movies at its stores, the retailer has launched the experience which will roll to 160 stores. Optimising store car parks Walmart is repurposing its large car parks through the summer to offer drive-in movies. This comes as traditional movie theatres are starting to re-open with social-distancing measures in place. The...

We look at how Walmart Canada is activating back-to-school in-store and online. A different back-to-school In Canada, there remains a high degree of uncertainty with regards to the future school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each province is responsible for setting the timelines and guidelines for the reopening of schools, colleges and universities. In most provinces, schools did reope...