RWRetailWire
Back to Discussions
DISCUSSION

Walmart’s Jet.com relaunches site, offers three-hour delivery in NYC

Written by George Anderson

Photo: Jet.com

When Jet.com was acquired in 2016, the plan was for the site to bring younger, more urban consumers into the Walmart fold. Recently, however, the site's traffic has fallen off as it has struggled to differentiate itself from a host of e-commerce rivals, starting with Amazon.com. Now, Jet has announced a relaunch and other changes that it hopes will make it a go-to shopping site in cities across the U.S.

The new site promises a more “humanized shopping experience designed to inspire shoppers and reduce the time required to solve every day living needs.” Among the changes being made are:

  • Localization: Beginning with New York, shoppers logging into the site will see local imagery along with localized messages throughout the site.
  • Tailored shopping: The site will make changes to the browsing experience based on the category, understanding that consumers do not shop for groceries online in the same way they shop for clothing, electronics or other items.
  • Personalization/Voice activation: The new site promises smarter recommendations based on individual shopper preferences as well as more timely reordering alerts. Consumers using iOS devices will be able to use Siri to create and build shopping lists from Jet’s mobile app.

Jet is putting much of its focus on New York City where the company is close to completing a fulfillment center in the Bronx. Working with Parcel, another Walmart business, Jet will offer three-hour delivery windows to customers in the city. Catering to its urban base, customers will be able to provide customized instructions for delivery such as “leave the package with the doorman.”

Jet’s chief customer officer, David Echegoyen, told CNBC, "Our plan is to be more relevant for what you're shopping for. Spotify does this really well with music. It gets better the more you use it. And that's the same approach we want to take to retail."

The site is also promoting the curation of popular local brands and the addition of top brands, including Converse and Nike, which are being added to the site in October. Jet became an authorized Apple reseller this year.

Discussion Thread0