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Walmart in particular seems well-positioned to pivot to competing with Amazon in retail in the US. They maintain what are essentially warehouse facilities withi

Walmart in particular seems well-positioned to pivot to competing with Amazon in retail in the US. They maintain what are essentially warehouse facilities within a short drive of a huge percentage of the population. Outcompeting Amazon in terms of a pleasant and trust-building web-shopping experience should be achievable--Amazon's UX has been getting worse over time, and achieving truly fast delivery outside of huge urban areas should be more possible for Walmart than anyone else. That said, I don't think Walmart is ready to be anywhere near bold enough to transform their assets into a true Amazon competitor because it would necessarily involve taking big risks and scaling back on the formula that has gotten them to where they are. So I'm not hopeful, but I keep thinking someday some new CEO might just make it happen.

Consultant32452 8y ago
I think Walmart is doing a great job with their online presence of late and I've seen articles about local delivery experiments they were performing. There was an article on HN some time back about Walmart basically paying their employees to deliver packages on their way home from work. It got a lot of negative feedback, but it's clear they're willing to experiment and try new ideas. They've also introduced some really great free shipping policies which compete well with Prime, but don't require a subscription fee.
- wolco 8y ago
  The shipping is why I prefer walmart. Without prime I always get the product on the last possible day or a week later. Walmart comes 2 days later. Selection is different though and Amazon has more brands/products.
wincy 8y ago
I’ve commented on this several times, but Walmart’s online grocery pickup app is coming along nicely. They’re doing a push to hire developers and the improvements show in the app. You originally had to call a phone number but now you say you’re on your way and it notifies the workers to come out and put your groceries in the trunk. My wife hates going inside Walmart’s so we’d use the smaller more expensive grocery stores, but with online pickup she stores her favorite items, adds them to a cart with a $30 minimum, and picks them up the next morning. It’s super convenient and we love it. I’d be hard pressed to see how Amazon could improve upon it, honestly.
- Spooky23 8y ago
  Totally agreed. Amazon’s variety of of offerings are also very confusing. You have Fresh, Pantry, and normal prime. I cannot use Fresh... I stopped using Amazon because with Pantry you’d get short-dated product and returns are a hassle. I think they have third party supply chain bullshit as well. Walmart is a better option, their economics are better for “middle of the store” grocery goods and I don’t have the supply chain concern that comes with Amazon.
- ghaff 8y ago
  I don’t use online ordering for groceries but I find Walmart grocery shopping generally incredibly hit or miss. A Walmart is the closest grocery store to me but I’ll basically never go there to do a full grocery shopping because of generally poor quality meats, wildly inconsistent produce, frequent out of stocks etc. I’d rather go a few more miles down the road to one of two grocery chains. Walmart is fine for most staples but rarely do they have everything I’m looking for at acceptable quality. And, yes, I dislike going in the store.
TAForObvReasons 8y ago
More and more frequently, Walmart online prices for the same items are comparable or even better than Amazon. Nowadays I search there first and generally prefer it.
sib 8y ago
Walmart is probably better positioned than anyone else in the US market to do so. It's worth noting that the current CEO is relatively "new" (he's been in the role only 5 years and is only 52 years old - a next generation of leader compared to his predecessors). He is being very proactive in building out things like online grocery, investing heavily in e-commerce (recent public results showing strong outcomes) and lots of targeted M&A related to digitally native brands to broaden the accessible customer segments, spending billions of dollars to remake / refresh the 5,000 stores, etc. <disclaimer: currently work at a subsidiary of Walmart, immediately previously worked at Amazon>

Consultant32452 8y ago

I think Walmart is doing a great job with their online presence of late and I've seen articles about local delivery experiments they were performing. There was an article on HN some time back about Walmart basically paying their employees to deliver packages on their way home from work. It got a lot of negative feedback, but it's clear they're willing to experiment and try new ideas. They've also introduced some really great free shipping policies which compete well with Prime, but don't require a subscription fee.

wolco 8y ago
The shipping is why I prefer walmart. Without prime I always get the product on the last possible day or a week later. Walmart comes 2 days later. Selection is different though and Amazon has more brands/products.

wincy 8y ago

I’ve commented on this several times, but Walmart’s online grocery pickup app is coming along nicely. They’re doing a push to hire developers and the improvements show in the app. You originally had to call a phone number but now you say you’re on your way and it notifies the workers to come out and put your groceries in the trunk. My wife hates going inside Walmart’s so we’d use the smaller more expensive grocery stores, but with online pickup she stores her favorite items, adds them to a cart with a $30 minimum, and picks them up the next morning. It’s super convenient and we love it. I’d be hard pressed to see how Amazon could improve upon it, honestly.

Spooky23 8y ago
Totally agreed. Amazon’s variety of of offerings are also very confusing. You have Fresh, Pantry, and normal prime. I cannot use Fresh... I stopped using Amazon because with Pantry you’d get short-dated product and returns are a hassle. I think they have third party supply chain bullshit as well. Walmart is a better option, their economics are better for “middle of the store” grocery goods and I don’t have the supply chain concern that comes with Amazon.
ghaff 8y ago
I don’t use online ordering for groceries but I find Walmart grocery shopping generally incredibly hit or miss. A Walmart is the closest grocery store to me but I’ll basically never go there to do a full grocery shopping because of generally poor quality meats, wildly inconsistent produce, frequent out of stocks etc. I’d rather go a few more miles down the road to one of two grocery chains. Walmart is fine for most staples but rarely do they have everything I’m looking for at acceptable quality. And, yes, I dislike going in the store.

TAForObvReasons 8y ago

More and more frequently, Walmart online prices for the same items are comparable or even better than Amazon. Nowadays I search there first and generally prefer it.

sib 8y ago

Walmart is probably better positioned than anyone else in the US market to do so. It's worth noting that the current CEO is relatively "new" (he's been in the role only 5 years and is only 52 years old - a next generation of leader compared to his predecessors). He is being very proactive in building out things like online grocery, investing heavily in e-commerce (recent public results showing strong outcomes) and lots of targeted M&A related to digitally native brands to broaden the accessible customer segments, spending billions of dollars to remake / refresh the 5,000 stores, etc. <disclaimer: currently work at a subsidiary of Walmart, immediately previously worked at Amazon>