Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, with over 11,000 stores in 27 countries. In order to maintain its position as a retail leader, Walmart must continue to innovate and evolve its strategic management practices. The following are three recommendations for Walmart’s future strategic direction:
1. Increase focus on e-commerce
In recent years, Walmart has made significant investments in e-commerce, including acquiring online retailers Jet.com and ModCloth. However, these acquisitions have not been enough to make Walmart a major player in the e-commerce space. In order to compete with Amazon and other online retailers, Walmart needs to increase its focus on e-commerce. This includes investing in more online retailers, building out its own e-commerce platform, and offering more online services such as grocery delivery.
2. Expand internationally
Walmart has a strong presence in the United States, but it lags behind other retailers when it comes to international expansion. In order to maintain its position as a global retail leader, Walmart needs to expand its operations into new markets. This could include countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Additionally, Walmart should consider expanding its e-commerce offerings into international markets.
3. Improve customer service
One of the areas where Walmart has been criticized in recent years is customer service. In order to improve its reputation and attract more customers, Walmart needs to focus on improving its customer service. This includes hiring more employees, training employees better, and offering more services such as in-store returns and exchanges.
Online shopping has been a regular occurrence for customers every year, not just in the US but globally. It’s not only more convenient for shoppers, but they also have access to a wider variety of items and can do so discreetly. Furthermore, online retailers often offer better prices than brick-and-mortar stores. While Wal-Mart may sell products cheaply that customers want, their physical locations aren’t always convenient or conducive to discretion.
In other words: the online presence of Wal-Mart is not as strong as it could be. The current strategic focus of Wal-Mart should be to increase and improve their online sales capabilities in order to compete with the likes of Amazon, eBay, and other online retailers. In order to do so, Walmart needs to focus on a few key areas: first, they need to make sure that their website is user friendly and provides a good customer experience; second, they need to make sure that they have a wide variety of products available for purchase online; and third, they need to focus on getting their prices down to match or beat the prices of their competitors.
If Walmart can successfully improve their online presence, they will be able to increase their customer base, which will in turn lead to increased sales and profits.
The most important recommendation to consider is that consumers should be able to return goods bought through an internet website if they are not satisfied with them. This is because online purchasing is global by nature. Since Amazon currently dominates the online shopping industry, and has seen their sales grow from $15 billion to $61 billion over the last five years, it’s clear that they’re operating some kind of magic.
To compete with Amazon, Walmart has to establish a very clear strategic plan.
First, they need to improve their website design and layout. The current website is not user-friendly, which makes it difficult for customers to find what they are looking for.
Second, Walmart needs to focus on their delivery times and offer free shipping with no minimum purchase. Currently, Amazon offers free shipping on orders over $25 and delivers within two days.
Third, they need to improve customer service both online and in-stores. Customers should feel like they are valued and that their concerns are being heard.
Fourth, Walmart needs to create a more seamless experience for customers who shop both online and in-store. Customers should be able to order online and pick up in-store, or vice versa.
By following these strategic recommendations, Walmart will be better equipped to compete with Amazon and other online retailers. With a strong focus on customer service, delivery times, and website design, Walmart can improve their online presence and sales.
The demand for healthier and organic options is a potential business opportunity for Wal-Mart. According to a recent survey, people’s fat intake has decreased in the last decade. This information shows that the general public is prepared to improve its health and diet – a big customer base Walmart can’t afford to ignore. Through nutrition education and dissemination initiatives, both governments and private organizations have attempted to persuade Americans to eat healthier diets.
The USDA’s “MyPlate” campaign is one recent initiative with this goal. MyPlate replaced the former food guide pyramid and provides consumers with a simple way to make healthier choices. The message is clear – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy should make up the majority of what we eat each day, with lean protein and healthy fats in moderation.
Unfortunately, Wal-Mart has been lagging behind in responding to this trend. In 2006, Wal-Mart announced plans to offer more organic foods. However, the company has not followed through on these promises, and their organic food selection is still quite limited. They have also been slow to respond to the trend towards natural and free-from foods, as evidenced by their lack of gluten-free products.
Given Wal-Mart’s vast resources, it is surprising that they have not been more aggressive in capitalizing on these trends. However, there are a few potential explanations for this slow response. First, the company may be hesitant to make significant changes because their current business model is working well and is very profitable. Second, Wal-Mart may be waiting to see how these trends play out before making any major investments.
Despite their slow response so far, there is still an opportunity for Wal-Mart to take advantage of these trends. They should move quickly to expand their organic and natural food offerings, as well as their selection of gluten-free products. In addition, Wal-Mart should consider revamping their overall grocery selection to better reflect the current trends in American diets. By doing so, they can tap into a growing market of health-conscious consumers and solidify their position as a leading grocer in the United States.
