Wal-Mart Throws Weight Behind Online Sales with @WalmartLabs

Wal-Mart’s (NYSE:WMT) recent thrust has been towards enhancing and developing its e-commerce platform. According to reports, Wal-Mart is aggressively hiring developers to expand its @WalmartLabs team. ^[1] The company is trying to leverage social media to drive its sales. Recently, it partnered with Facebook and also acquired Kosmix, a social media company. Wal-Mart competes with other big retailers like Target (NYSE:TGT), Costco (NASDAQ:COST) and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY). Online retailers like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are also serving as stiff competition to Wal-Mart.

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@WalmartLabs Spearheading Innovations

• @WalmartLabs creates platforms and products around social and mobile commerce. It works on creating the innovative ways to connect with prospective customers. Since its inception, @WalmartLabs has been actively scouting for acquisitions. In November, it acquired Grabble, a maker of point of sale technology that ties in with mobile phones.
• According to Eduardo Castro-Wright, Walmart’s Vice-Chairman, social networking and mobile applications are becoming a part of customers’ day-to-day lives. Therefore, it is essential for world’s largest retailer to grab a share in the expanding e-commerce market. Social data could help Wal-Mart to indulge in targeted advertising campaigns. This could also help in ascertaining customer reviews on specific products and what kind of products customers are expecting.

We are optimistic about @WalmartLabs efforts to create a niche for Wal-Mart in the rapidly expanding e-commerce industry. Since inception, it has brought a lot of positive changes in Wal-Mart’s online platform and social integration initiatives.

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1. Walmart hires developers to drive ‘e-commerce 2.0’, ZDNet [↩]