Walmart should keep on investigating new stuff, as should any retailer — how can we not applaud the effort? That said, they need to be very sensitive to what changes mean for their core franchise. Keep the assortment good, keep the prices low and keep the stores clean and friendly and they can do whatever else they want.

Customers at all levels of the price-point spectrum are and will continue to use and embrace retailer innovation. What is notable is that Walmart is one of the retailers making this kind of investment into what is essentially R&D in order to compete better and maybe even get ahead of the competition.

Keeping the original brand names is quite different from trying to “dress up” existing Walmart stores. That plan was wrong for a variety of reasons.

But … Walmart has indeed tapped out its addressable market and, if it is to grow, it must find a way to reach other demographics — people who would never be caught in a Walmart store.

I, personally, think it’s a fine idea to do what they’re doing. I don’t necessarily think of Walmart as an innovator of anything beyond operational efficiencies. These new brands are designed to “sneak into” other markets, and I applaud it.

Does the core Walmart consumer want this? Do the people who want this shop Walmart? It seems to be neither fish nor fowl.

Companies should be in the business of creating the future and not simply responding to what pundits and polls think their customers are looking for.

Without experimenting and probing, you can never discover the hidden potential in any market. Walmart’s Store No. 8 is a powerful symbol and reminder that change — and innovation — can only happen when you challenge the status quo. Keep it going Walmart, it’s the only path to remain relevant.

Walmart’s core U.S. business is mature and saturated. Walmart has a choice. They can break boundaries, explore and experience or they can become the Woolworths and Sears of the future.

The difference between eight years ago and now: 1) the ascent of Amazon; 2) the maturation of Millennials. There is no way Walmart can go wrong by enabling consumers to “realize high personalized, one-to-one shopping experiences.”

I attended the Terry J. Lundgren Center for Retailing (University of Arizona) Global Retailing Conference last week in Tucson. Steve Bratspies Chief Merchandising Officer at Walmart gave a presentation centered on innovation in retail. The presentation focused on the two material consumer trends that Walmart sees as keys to their growth now and beyond:

• Trend #1: Customers still like the box (the store);
• Trend #2: Connecting online and offline wins minds.

Having a plan to address both of these trends for Walmart (and everyone else in retail) is table stakes.

Walmart doesn’t necessarily have to market Store No. 8 as Walmart-affiliated. Since the new concept will be marketed to a different income bracket than Walmart’s regular clientele, I can’t imagine it alienating price-conscious shoppers.

Marc Lore is making the right moves. Rent the Runway is a powerhouse and Jennifer Fleiss understands the modern fashion customer. Personalization is a commodity for customers in every income bracket and Marc Lore is smart to get on board.

Experimentation is great — especially with how to incorporate technology. However many of Walmart’s customers are not that comfortable with automation, so then comes the next decision — to focus on higher income and younger consumers. But Walmart has tried many times to attract high-income consumers with no success. The image of Walmart is clearly entrenched in the low-price space in consumers’ minds. This by itself is also not the best way to lure young consumers but the technology innovations will appeal to them. With a really strong current brand image, new approaches to a different target market are not likely to be any more successful now than in the past. If the new ideas are not consistent with the current brand image Walmart would be more successful launching a new retail brand.

The physical store can no longer stay viable in today’s shopping landscape if it continues to exclusively play the traditional 4Ps- Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. The age of acceleration fueled by what Thomas Friedman calls the “Supernova” (Internet) dictates change. The status quo cannot survive in this environment. The physical store, as we know it, cannot survive.

Even Walmart seems to understand this. While I don’t think of Walmart when I seek innovation, they recognize the need for change and can afford to experiment and test. (Whether they’re testing the correct things is another discussion.) Walmart must figure out how to compete with Amazon. They should have an advantage in that they already have the physical store real estate — now they need to figure out what the “store” will be in an Amazonian world.

Walmart has to continue to innovate or be left behind. Walmart used technology to drive down the cost in the supply chain in order to become the low price leader, but that segment is not growing anymore — any customers moving out of the segment are going to Amazon.

Walmart has to continue to push the boundaries to retain loyalty as its base moves to other channels, like Amazon.

With 90 percent of U.S. consumers living within 15 minutes of a Walmart store, Walmart recognizes that they have tapped out their current target market and need to find creative ways to grow their business. Expanding offerings that appeal to other demographics, such as higher income consumers, is a great way to expand Walmart’s revenues. Walmart is taking this seriously and has been very aggressively acquiring digital capabilities and retail brands.

The challenge for Walmart is to appeal to customer segments that are not currently Walmart shoppers. Probably the best approach for Walmart is to maintain the separate brands they acquire or develop a totally new brand that doesn’t have the preconceived perceptions that people already have with Walmart. Consumers don’t think of Walmart for upscale products and changing perceptions is a difficult thing. If they stick with the separate brands and leverage the massive infrastructure I believe it will be a winning combo.