Walmart achieves huge milestone with focus on online and media

For the first time ever, Walmart was able to sell more than 100 billion dollars online in one year. The retail giant continues to invest in retail media, with the acquisition of a smart TV platform.

Competing with Amazon

Walmart results are always staggering: last year, sales grew 6 % to 648.1 billion dollars (600 billion euros), while operating profit rose 32.2 % to 27 billion dollars (25 billion euros). Online sales passed the 100 billion dollar mark for the first time: e-commerce already accounts for more than 15 % of the company’s total sales.

The strong results come on the back of some clever investments, reports the retailer, such as those in faster delivery times that strengthen its competitive position against Amazon. A new search engine with artificial intelligence on the website helps customers with complete shopping baskets for specific occasions (such as a birthday party), increasing average spending.

Advertising revenue grew 28 % to 3.4 billion dollars. Here, too, Walmart rivals Amazon. The retailer has paid 2.3 billion dollars for Vizio, a manufacturer of smart TVs that also has an interesting control platform, SmartCast. With this, Walmart aims to extend the reach of its retail media into consumers’ living rooms via streaming services.