Walmart's next chief technology officer is a veteran of Google and Amazon Walmart Inc. hired an executive who has held senior roles at Google, Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. as its new technology chief, while expanding and elevating the role. Suresh Kumar will join Walmart July 8 as the retailer’s chief technology officer and chief development officer, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon. (Ad Age)
$/goods ratio. I only see smug assholes shitting on Walmart, no offense. I just don't see why it's popular to shit on it.
Here is an example: went to walmart.com to buy checks. When I go to check out I see they have added six dollars to the stated price for "processing". I go to Amazon. The price I see is the price charged. In addition the price on Amazon is for 300 business checks vs 300 personal checks at Walmart.com. And they are the same price withing pennies, once you add the $6 hidden charge for "processing "!. So we should be shitting on Walmart for their "as seen on TV" pricing model.. Anecdotes don't prove anything. Sad to say this anecdote is an exception. It sums up the Walmart marketing philosophy: assume your customer is dumb as shit.
Walmart has started catering to affiliates. Amazon affiliates will also have shipping charges outside those "prime" products. Amazon's algo just prioritizes the prime products which often carry a premium. Amazon doesn't tolerate pricing shenanigans either. Having said that, I've seen the same sellers at Walmart, Amazon, and eBay, and generally Amazon is the cheapest price. Which tells me they must have the most competitive fees and/or most traffic to warrant discounted pricing. Walmart's online presence is nowhere near as good as Amazon, I'll grant you that. I was talking more about the store itself.
I wasn't referring to shipping charges. Shipping charges were in addition to a "processing fee." I was referring to deceptive pricing. Walmart's website allows the sort of deceptive pricing scam where you don't find out about the "Processing fee" until the final stage of the checkout process! This tells me all I need to know about Walmart management, and how successful they are going to be in competing with Amazon. Naturally, I ordered my checks from Amazon. The latest thing with Amazon, possibly it is only Amazon Prime, not certain about that, but now if you're returning an item you don't even have to package it in a box for shipping, or even print out a shipping label. You just get a return code via the internet, then drop the item off at the nearest UPS store. They package and ship it for you and there is no cost to you. Amazon has no competition. And it isn't because they have a monopoly. It is because they are willing to lose money on a transaction rather than piss off their customer. They do everything in a way that is most convenient for the customer. Two years ago I bought a $500 toilet from Amazon. When we unboxed, we discovered that the base was broken. I called Amazon and they asked me to put it back in the box and they would send a truck around to pick it up. I explained that we had destroyed the box by cutting it apart. They said, no problem, the shipping company would box it for me. When the shipping company arrived the driver told me he couldn't take a mess like that unless it was boxed. I told him what Amazon told me. He said OK, no problem, and he took the broken pieces and all the box scraps. I assumed I would have to wait another two days for the replacement. Instead, without my requesting it or even knowing that Amazon had done it, Amazon flew, at no cost to me, a replacement in from somewhere in Tennessee and it was delivered by noon the day after I contacted Amazon. Amazon has eliminated competition by doing things better than everyone else.
I do most of my shopping exclusively through Amazon. Again, I was talking more about the brick and mortar stores.
I understand, however I am no more impressed with the management of the Brick and Mortar stores then I am with Walmart.com. However my experience is essentially limited to Mississippi, and their stores here may very well be atypical of the rest of the country.
Walmart Deliveries Walmart will start rolling out grocery deliveries not just to customers' homes, but directly into their fridge or basement if they're not at home. The customer will need to use a smart lock that lets the delivery staff in. The delivery staff will be wearing Internet-connected body cameras so the customer can supervise the delivery remotely, though this wrinkle in the plan is this might freak out privacy fans. Fortune