Photo: Walmart
There are so many stories written about Walmart trying to catch up with Amazon.com online that you might think the world’s largest retailer is having a tough go of it in the U.S., that is, if you didn’t pay attention to the company’s financials. Yesterday, Walmart reported customer traffic increased for the seventh straight quarter helping achieve a same-store sales gain of 1.6 percent, the eighth consecutive quarter of positive comps.
President and CEO McMillon told analysts on yesterday’s earnings call that Walmart continues to make improvements managing its inventory. “Our customer satisfaction scores continue to improve, and the team did a great job of managing the flow of inventory again this quarter. Comp store inventory was down 6.5 percent and in-stock levels are up.”
Mr. McMillon said total e-commerce sales increased 11.8 percent overall with the U.S., outperforming the company’s results in other markets.
“This was primarily due to growth in our marketplace offering in the U.S., the continued roll out of online grocery and growth of pick-up in stores and clubs,” he said. “We continue to see proof that our customers enjoy a seamless shopping experience. The distinctions that we talk about today between stores, apps, pick-up, delivery and sites are continuing to blur into the background for customers. For them, it’s just Walmart.”
Speaking about its proposed acquisition of Jet.com, Mr. McMillon said the move would enable the company to achieve growth more quickly than on its own.
“One of the things we like about the technology they’ve developed is that it rewards customers in real time with savings on a basket of goods and puts them more in charge of the price they pay. This empowers customers in a way that is true to the spirit of Walmart,” said Mr. McMillon. “When customers build a basket of goods online rather than ordering one item at a time, shipping economics are in their favor and ours. Walmart’s advantage has always been in providing the lowest prices on a basket, and Jet has created a unique way to deliver the lowest cost basket online.”