“Walmart is partnering with Capital One to launch a new credit card program, which rolls on September 24, and includes both co-branded and private-label cards. The former, the Capital One Walmart Mastercard, includes 5% back on purchases made on Walmart.com or paid for in-store using Walmart Pay (the latter for the first 12 months.) The private label card, the Walmart Rewards Card, will offer those same perks, but is limited to being used only in Walmart stores and on Walmart.com.”

“Walmart is expanding its brand-new “Delivery Unlimited” grocery delivery membership program to more stores across the U.S., with plans to reach more than 50% of the country by year-end. The new program allows regular grocery delivery customers to pay either an annual fee of $98 or $12.95 on a monthly basis instead of paying the usual $9.99 per delivery fee. These options make Walmart Grocery delivery more affordable for those who order at least twice a month or more.”

“Walmart Inc.’s online sales—which include a large buy online pick up in store (BOPIS) operation for groceries and other goods—are soaring. But profit for the ecommerce operation could be years away, according to industry observers. In the first and second quarters of Walmart’s current fiscal year, online sales grew 37.0% , the company reported. Management expects growth in ecommerce sales to be at least 35% for the year as a whole. That’s far above the 15.0% overall growth rate for U.S. ecommerce sales in 2018, according to Internet Retailer data.”

“Walmart is working to becoming an increasingly tech-focused company, buying up e-commerce startups, investing heavily to boost online sales, adding more grocery-delivery options and working to ramp up its digital ad revenue . The bulk of Walmart’s revenues and profits came from around 4,600 U.S. stores as of the most recent quarter.”

“While some retailers have closed or seen sales sputter in recent years with the rise of online shopping, quarterly comparable sales have risen consistently in Walmart’s primary U.S. business for over four years. Walmart has shifted strategies, significantly reducing spending on building new stores in favor of growing online, lowering prices and adding more services in physical stores like online grocery pickup. Last week Walmart said it has invested in its online delivery network over the past two years to speed delivery times.”

“Check Out with Me is expanding to every Supercenter by Black Friday – just in time for the holidays. Associates will help customers pay by simply swiping their credit card and providing them with a receipt (paper or electronic) wherever they are in the store. To make this service even more convenient, we are positioning associates in the busiest areas of the store, like the garden center, electronics or action alley.”

“Walmart’s warehouse club, Sam’s Club is preparing to open the doors at a new Dallas area store that will serve as a testbed for the latest in retail technology. Specifically, the retailer will test out new concepts like mobile checkout, an Amazon Go-like camera system for inventory management, electronic shelf labels, wayfinding technology for in-store navigation, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence-infused shopping, among other things.”

“The fundamental difference between Walmart and Shopify is that the former is a marketplace while the latter is an e-commerce platform. It is hard for a seller with no distinct brand identity to differentiate herself on a marketplace unlike on a platform. As revenue channels, they are both necessary for a merchant’s omnichannel strategy. While Amazon will rule the roost in the marketplace arena for a long time to come, merchants should start betting on Shopify. This acquisition will be an opportunity for Walmart to write its story in a market that Amazon tried and quit. Shopify does not get you shoppers and Walmart does not get you the support services. As a combined entity, their value proposition becomes very compelling.”

“Walmart just killed an app that let shoppers scan and pay for items with their smartphones so they could skip waiting in line at checkout registers, the company confirmed to Business Insider on Tuesday. The decision to drop the app, called Scan & Go, comes just four months after the retailer announced it would expand its test of the technology to more than 100 stores.”

“Walmart Inc.’s WMT +0.42% battle with Amazon.com Inc. is heading to India. Walmart is near a deal to invest around $15 billion for a roughly 75% stake in Flipkart Group, India’s largest e-commerce company, according to a person familiar with the matter. It would be a big bet by Walmart that India will be a source of growth at a time when Amazon is gaining ground in the country.”