Walmart: Diversifying and Dominating the Retail Industry
Walmart is a household name as the world’s largest retailer, with over 10,500 stores worldwide. In recent years, Walmart has expanded its portfolio to include non-storefront businesses in order to stay ahead of competitors like Amazon. By doing so, they’ve created multiple lucrative side hustles. One of Walmart’s most successful side ventures is Walmart Connect, which brought in $2.7 billion in revenue in 2022. The company’s data monetization platform, Walmart Luminate, has also grown significantly since its launch in 2021. Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) and Walmart GoLocal are two more businesses that offer opportunities for profit and serve as vital components in Walmart’s diversification strategy.
Walmart Connect:
Walmart’s advertising arm, Walmart Connect, is an e-commerce advertising platform that helps brands promote their products to Walmart shoppers. It provides omnichannel ad solutions across various channels, such as Walmart.com, the Walmart app, and other platforms such as TikTok. Walmart Connect’s proprietary data platform allows brands to place ads based on behavioral, demographic, and geographic insights, resulting in increased effectiveness and return on investment. Walmart Connect has been a huge success, with the company surpassing $2.7 billion in ad revenue in 2022. Walmart Connect’s powerful data-driven approach to advertising ensures that it’s here to stay.
Walmart Luminate:
Walmart Luminate, launched in October 2021, is Walmart’s data monetization platform. Walmart stores billions of consumer data points, and Luminate utilizes this data to create actionable insights for businesses. The platform provides a comprehensive view of Walmart’s consumer behavior along with data modeling tools and automated processes, making data monetization easy and accessible. In addition, Luminate can be used by Walmart partners, such as supply chain partners, media companies, and technology partners, to optimize the supply chain, develop customer insights, and increase revenue. Luminate’s 75% quarter-over-quarter growth in the second quarter of 2022 is a testament to the platform’s success and importance in Walmart’s portfolio.
Walmart Fulfillment Services:
Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) is Walmart’s third-party marketplace fulfillment service. WFS allows sellers to store and ship products using Walmart’s warehouses, thereby avoiding the hassle of setting up their own logistics operations. Walmart Fulfillment Services also provides end-to-end support to third-party sellers, from order picking and packing to shipping and customer support. Walmart Fulfillment Services offer competitive fees, low shipping rates, and fast, reliable service, attracting more third-party sellers to Walmart’s marketplace. By investing in WFS, Walmart is offering a profitable opportunity for third-party sellers and expanding its portfolio.
Walmart GoLocal:
Walmart GoLocal is Walmart’s delivery service business that launched in 2021. Walmart GoLocal allows partners to access Walmart’s vast logistics network to deliver from more than 5,000 business and retail locations, allowing businesses to offer same-day delivery to their customers. Walmart GoLocal serves as a service provider to partners, handling end-to-end operations such as picking, packing, and delivery, and ensuring compliance and safety regulations. Walmart GoLocal’s focus on local deliveries makes it a useful service for small businesses and further bolsters Walmart’s position in the retail market.
The retail industry is incredibly competitive, and Walmart has recognized the importance of diversifying its business to stay ahead of its rivals. Through their data-driven advertising arm Walmart Connect, and data monetization platform Luminate, Walmart has leveraged their data to push the company forward. Walmart Fulfillment Services provides a profitable opportunity for third-party sellers, while Walmart GoLocal taps into Walmart’s massive logistics network to facilitate same-day deliveries. As Walmart’s portfolio widens, its dominance in retail is poised to continue, and it continues laying out a blueprint for retail success.