The COVID-19 pandemic had irreversible effects on the world at large and in ways one would not even think to consider. Aside from the obvious health and mortality implications, the retail sector is the biggest example of this. With the pandemic came lockdown restrictions and retailers suffered greatly. As a result, the great shift to online shopping came about and based on the state of retail over the last five years, it is here to stay.
Despite this new preference, however, retailers like Walmart or Target are still managing quite well with brick and mortar business models due to the fact that they are supermarkets rather than specialty or exclusively apparel stores.
Walmart implements some changes
Whilst the supermarket giant has been adapting to the evolving market by introducing its e-commerce platform, Walmart+, along with an online marketplace to better accommodate the needs of its customers with a preference for online shopping, brick and mortar sales do still form a significant bulk of the company’s net revenue.
Whilst the shift in how businesses operate had to occur overnight when COVID-19 hit, retailers have since had much time to fine tune their new way of operation in a way that benefits them most. For big box retailers like Walmart, a complete shift to e-commerce would not be wise as the brick and mortar model is still largely successful. As such, the company has now been working towards bettering the in-store experience for its customers in order to draw in more new foot traffic, as well as to retain their current customer base.
In pursuit of this, the big box giant has invested a whopping $9 billion towards renovating stores. The five year plan is aimed at overhauling or opening new stores to enhance the overall shopping experience.
In this regard, Walmart CEO John Furner said, “In the next five years, Walmart is planning to build or convert more than 150 stores, while simultaneously continuing our program to remodel existing stores. These efforts represent millions of dollars in capital investment of labor, supplies and tax revenue, which benefit their respective communities. And they’ll help us reach and serve even more customers.”
Some of the changes shoppers can expect to see rolled out over the next few years include:
- Increased sustainability
- More selection
- In-store tech to help shoppers navigate
- New aisle displays
- Fresh paint and lighting
- More shopping carts
Major change at checkout and we’re not talking about coins
On March17, the supermarket giant announced that it would be partnering with Swedish tech company Klarna as its new Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) partner.
BNPL is an installment service through which customers can purchase products in store and pay them off through a monthly or weekly plan and it is usually interest free. This checkout option is especially tempting to customers making pricier purchases for items such as furniture or televisions and appliances.
The retailer had been working with Affirm as its BNPL partner since 2019, however this relationship will soon reach its end once the Klarna system is fully rolled out.
Approximately 2% of Affirm’s adjusted operating income was represented by Walmart. “We will continue our long-term strategy of competing on our products and entering into sustainable partnerships,” a spokesperson for Affirm shared.
As such, the Klarna rollout has been slated to begin over the next few week and the full integration into Walmart’s checkout systems is expected to be completed by the 2025 festive period. Through Klarna, Walmart shoppers will be able to opt for assistance for three to thirty-six months.
“This is a game changer,” Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said of the collaboration.
“We look forward to helping redefine checkout at the world’s largest retailer — both online and in stores.”