Smt.

Kesharbai Lahoti Mahavidyalaya,

Amravati

Project Report
On
“WALMART”
In partial fulfilment
For
The Requirement of
Subject :- E-Commerce
-: Submitted by :-
Mr. Yash Sahu B.com
III year (Sec D)
-:Under the Guidence of :-
Prof. Rachna Rathi
Smt. Kesharbai Lahoti Mahavidyalaya
Amravati
{2022-23}
 CERTIFICATE OF GUIDE

This is to certify that

Mr. Yash Sahu
B.com III year (SEC. D) have completed the project report on
“WALMART”
Under my satisfactory guidence the conclusions are based on data
collected by the student during their training

Date : 05/12/2022

Place : Amravati

-:Principal:- -:Guided By:-

DR. V.L. BHANGDIA PROF. RACHNA RATHI

Smt. Kesharbai Lahoti Mahavidyalaya Smt. Kesharbai Lahoti Mahavidyalaya
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We feel very great pleasure while submitting this project report which
is the important stone work in the journey of the course

We find no appropriate word to express our gratitude to guide

Prof. Rachna Rathi Who helped in project work who that
showed us the right track with her knowledge skill and techniques

Date :- 05/12/2022

Place :- Amravati

Mr. Yash Sahu

 INDEX
SR NO. CONTENT

1. Introduction

2. What Does Wal-Mart Do?

3. History

4. Mission & Vision

5. SWOT Analysis

6. Walmart’s CEO

7. Coporate Affairs

8. Operating Division
 Walmart Inc.

Introduction to Walmart:
Wal-Mart was launched in 1962 by retailer Sam Walton, who then owned a small
franchised variety store. The company was based on a simple vision; pass on the savings from
buying in bulk on to the customer and earn profits through volume. This was in sharp contrast to
other retailers, who did not change their retail prices when a discount was given by suppliers.
By controlling payroll costs, fighting unions and hiring as little people as possible, Wal-Mart
kept growing steadily. Technology also played a big role; in 1970, the company began using
computers to link stores with warehouses, achieving greater efficiency through reducing
inventories. After the death of Sam Walton, the perception of Wal-Mart became increasingly
negative. Basing their strategy on Mr. Walton’s; the new directors became increasingly
obsessed by lowering costs, but they forgot to give the employees a feeling of having a stake in
the company. Press reports increased in negativity and in 2004, a report by McKinsey and Co.
found that 8 percent of Wal-Marts former customers did no longer shop there because of the bad
reports. In order to turn this around, Wal-Mart has to work out its identity crisis in order to
become a model for the industry (Frank, 2006).
What Does Wal-Mart Do?
Walmart Stores, Inc. (WalMart) is a global brick and mortar - as well as online Retail
Company. It operates in three segments; the WalMart US segment. Secondly, the WalMart
International segment, with stores in 26 countries, and finally the Sam’s Club segment. In 2011;
the US segment accounted for 60% of net sales while WalMart International accounted for
28%. Wal-Mart has wholly owned subsidiaries in China, Brazil, Canada, Japan, the United
Kingdom, Mexico and Argentina. The company operates in six merchand ise units; grocery,
entertainment, health & wellness and apparel & home, across a wide variety of stores including
supercenters, discount stores and neighborhood centers or smaller venues (Reuters, 2012).

History of Walmart:
The history of Walmart, an American discount department store chain, began in 1950
when businessman Sam Walton purchased a store from Luther E. Harrison in Bentonville,
Arkansas, and opened Walton's 5 And 10. The Walmart chain proper was founded in 1962 with
a single store in Rogers, expanding outside Arkansas by 1968 and throughout the rest of
the Southern United States by the 1980's, ultimately operating a store in every state of the
United States, plus its first stores in Canada, by 1995. The expansion was largely fueled by n ew
store construction, although the chains Mohr-Value and Kuhn's Big K were also acquired. The
company introduced its warehouse club chain Sam's Club in 1983 and its first Supercenter
stores in 1988. By the second decade of the 21st century, the chain had grown to over 11,000
stores in 28 countries.

Walmart’s Mission Statement

Walmart Inc.’s corporate mission is “to save people money so they can live better.” This
statement reflects the ideals of the company’s founder, Sam Walton. Strategic decisions in the
business are a direct manifestation of this mission statement, which is synonymous to the
company’s slogan, “Save money. Live better.” Based on this statement, it is clear that Walmart’s
business strategies involve using price as a selling point to attract target consumers. The
significance of such a selling point is exhibited in many of the company’s strategies. For
example, Walmart Inc.’s marketing mix or 4P involves low prices as a strategy. Other areas of
the company are determined by the need to minimize selling prices as a way to achieve
competitiveness.

Walmart’s Vision Statement

Walmart Inc.’s corporate vision is to “Be THE destination for customers to save money,
no matter how they want to shop.” This vision was officially articulated in the company’s 2017
investment community meeting. The company’s previous vision statement was “To be the best
retailer in the hearts and minds of consumers and employees.” The change in the corporate
vision reflects strategic changes that Walmart implements in response to changes in the
competitive landscape and the overall condition of the retail industry.

Walmart SWOT Analysis & Recommendations:

This SWOT analysis of Walmart Inc. (formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) shows that the
company’s leading position in the international retail industry is based on the utilization of
organizational strengths and corresponding competitive advantages. These business advantages
are used in countering the impacts of competing retailers and digital content distribution firms,
such as Amazon, Target, Apple, and Google.

In this case of Walmart, the SWOT analysis gives insights on the internal and externa l
forces significant in the company’s strategy development in the retail industry. While these
factors vary over time, the company’s growth depends on its ability to capitalize on its retail
operational effectiveness and strengths. Also, in spite of the co mpany’s weaknesses, its
strengths are far more significant considerations. Walmart can use these strengths to exploit its
opportunities in the retail market. The firm can also use its strengths to counteract the threats to
its retail business, especially its e-commerce operations. Strategic implementations based on the
SWOT factors are important in ensuring Walmart’s competitiveness and continued leadership
as the biggest retailer in the world.
 This SWOT analysis of Walmart shows that the company can have h igher long-term
success potential through aggressive global expansion, especially in retail markets in developing
countries. The company’s internal strategic factors (strengths and weaknesses) represent
capabilities for this kind of expansion. However, the firm’s external strategic factors
(opportunities and threats) require the creation of more value through the retail service value
chain, to overcome the hindering force of competitors, especially strong local and regional
incumbents. These considerations are in line with the factors identified in the PESTEL/PESTLE
analysis of Walmart Inc.

Walmart’s Strengths (Internal Forces)

In this part of the SWOT analysis, Walmart’s strengths are all related to the size of its
business. These competitive strengths enable the company to withstand threats despite its
weaknesses as a low-cost retailer. For exploiting global expansion opportunities, Walmart’s
strengths for further global growth are:

1. Global organizational size

2. Global supply chain
3. High efficiency of supply chain

Walmart’s global organizational size gives the business deep pockets to fund growth and
expansion. The global supply chain also provides business resilience from market-specific risks,
such as disruptions in local supply chains. In addition, Walmart’s supply chain has high
efficiency because of advanced technologies for monitoring and controlling the movement of
products from suppliers to its stores. In this SWOT analysis, such organizational and business
strengths provide competitive advantage, especially against smaller retailers.

Walmart’s Weaknesses (Internal Forces)

Walmart’s weaknesses impose challenges on the firm’s ability to withstand the threats
also identified in this SWOT analysis. These weaknesses are directly related to the company’s
generic strategy and its implications in business development, capabilities, resources, and profit
margins. Walmart uses the cost leadership generic strategy, which leads to the following
weaknesses:

1. Thin profit margins

2. Easily copied business model
3. Competitive disadvantage against high-end specialty sellers

Thin profit margins are a typical effect of using the cost leadership strategy. Because Walmart
minimizes selling prices, it also needs to minimize profit margins and rely more on sales
volume. The cost leadership strategy also makes Walmart’s business model easy to copy. The
firm does not have significant competitive differentiators, except for its business s ize and prices.
 Furthermore, high-end specialty retailers have the upper hand in attracting quality -seeking
buyers who have low sensitivity to price. Thus, the weaknesses presented in this SWOT
analysis of Walmart reflect business vulnerability to innovative competitors and disruptions in
the industry environment, especially in the presence of major e-commerce firms like Amazon.

Opportunities for Walmart (External Forces)

Walmart’s opportunities are mainly about expansion and improving business practices.
These opportunities are linked to the global economic situation. Also, the human resources
situation in the organization presents issues that are actually opportunities for the firm to
improve.

In this portion of the SWOT analysis, Walmart’s opportunities are:

1. Expansion in developing countries

2. Improvement in human resource practices to develop competitiveness in the labor market
3. Improvement in quality standards

Walmart’s opportunity to expand in developing countries is based on their high -growth

economic condition. On the other hand, the opportunities in HR practices directly relate to the
criticisms on the company’s employment practices. Improving these practices can attract higher
quality workers relative to other retailers. Walmart’s opportunity to improve quality standards
addresses consumers’ concerns on the health effects of using low-cost and sometimes low-
quality products. This part of the SWOT analysis presents some ways for addressing the
company’s weaknesses and the threats to its retail business.

Threats Facing Walmart (External Forces)

The threats to Walmart’s business are linked to the retail market condition and the
changes in consumer perceptions about the products they buy. These factors should compel the
company to make some competitive strategic changes. In the context of this SWOT analysis, the
threats to Walmart are:

1. Healthy lifestyle trend

2. Aggressive competition
3. Online retailers of various sizes

The healthy lifestyle trend is a threat and an opportunity. It threatens Walmart’s business
because many of the company’s goods are perceived as not healthful, not organic or not natural.
It is an opportunity for the company to improve its quality standards. However, this factor is
more of a threat because the retail giant currently does not prioritize healthful products in its
stores. Aggressive competition is another threat because other large retailers could use
aggressive marketing strategies to capture Walmart’s customers. Also, small-scale and large
online sellers are a threat against the company’s retail business. Through the Internet, small
sellers or individuals are able to compete and bypass the company’s presence by using their
own websites to sell products to online consumers. Similarly, in this part of the SWOT analysis
of Walmart Inc., large online retailers have the ability to attract and satisfy consumers,
especially those who prefer the convenience of online transactions.

Recommendations based on SWOT Analysis of Walmart Inc.

This SWOT analysis shows that Walmart must prioritize using its strengths to exploit
opportunities in the global retail market. The company’s weaknesses and threats should be
secondary priorities. Walmart can improve its HR management standards and product quality
standards to improve firm performance. Also, the company must continue expanding its
business to exploit economic opportunities in developing markets. Walmart’s strengths based on
its global organizational size, global supply chain, and high efficiency of the supply chain can
support aggressive global expansion in foreign markets. Still, the company must implement
strategic changes based on the weaknesses and threats presented in this SWOT analysis, to
prepare the business for the long-term developments of a globalized and increasingly online
retail market.

President and chief executive officer of Walmart Inc:

Doug McMillon
Doug McMillon is president and chief executive officer of Walmart Inc. As CEO, Doug
leads a strong management team that is working to deliver Walmart’s purpose of saving people
money and helping them live a better life. Under his leadership, Walmart is bringing together its
stores, digital commerce capabilities and supply chain in new ways to make every day easier for
customers. Each week, over 275 million customers and members visit our more than 11,300
stores under 58 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites and apps.

From February 2009 to February 2014, Doug served as president and CEO of Walmart
International, a fast-growing segment of Walmart’s overall operations, with over 6,100 stores
and more than 700,000 associates in 26 countries outside the United States at tha t time. From
2005 to 2009, he served as president and CEO of Sam’s Club, an operating segment of
Walmart, with sales of more than $46 billion annually during his tenure.

Doug is a longtime champion of Walmart’s customers, its associates and the company’s
culture. In 1984, he started out as an hourly summer associate in a Walmart distribution center.
In 1990, while pursuing his master’s degree in business administration, he rejoined the company
as an assistant manager in a Tulsa, Okla., Walmart store before moving to merchandising. He
went on to serve in successful senior leadership roles in all of Walmart’s business segments. He
remains a merchant at heart and understands where customers around the world are heading
next.

Doug has served on the board of directors for Walmart since 2013 and currently is the
chair of the Executive committee. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the
Consumer Goods Forum, the U.S.-China Business Council and Crystal Bridges Museum of
American Art. He also serves on the executive committee of the Business Roundtable and the
advisory board of the Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management in Beijing,
China.

Originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas, Doug graduated from the University of Arkansas
with a bachelor of science in business administration. He earned his MBA in finance from the
University of Tulsa.

Doug McMillon’s leadership capabilities:

Doug Mcmillon is the current president and CEO of Wal-Mart stores. He became the
company’s fifth ever CEO in 2014. On November 25, 2013, Walmart announced that Mcmillon
would join the company’s board of directors and replace Mike Duke as CEO on February 1,
2014.

Before Doug Mcmillon became CEO, he worked his way up through the company. He
started out as an hourly summer associate at a distribution center in 1984. He pursued senior
leadership roles in all of Walmart’s business segments and therefore understands all aspects of
the company including what customers and employees want.

As CEO, Doug leads a strong management team that works hard to promote Walmart’s
slogan and the core of its corporate mission: “Save money. Live better.” Managing Walmart,
the No. 1 company on the fortune 500 list for the third straight year and for the 11 th time overall,
is not like managing a regular company. With $487.7 billion in revenue in 2014, 11,000 stores
in 27 countries and 2.2 million employees, Doug has an enormous responsibility as well as
many challenges. And when he took the job in 2014, he inherited some big problems. These
problems included several years of sluggish sales caused by a challenging global economy,
changes in how people shop, and pay and treatment of its employees.
 In the first 16 months on the job, Mcmillon put new executives into key roles, accelerated
investments in e-commerce, and made news by raising the minimum wage for thousands of
workers. McMillon believes that caring for his employees is critical to the success of
Walmart. Therefore, on Feb 19, 2015, McMillon announced a pay increase for Walmart
employees where the minimum hourly rate is now $9/hour starting April. Doug believes that
boosting the morale of the employees brings better business and that today’s cashier is
tomorrows store manager.

Mcmillon’s leadership style and goals have not changed much from 50 years ago when
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart. Although he has had to keep up with the social and
technological trends shaping our world in order to successfully continue leading his company.
He proves to have a global sensibility and constantly finds innovative ways to develop new
markets globally and domestically.

McMillon definitely has a big job to do, as he figures out ways to keep Walmart strong at
home against competition from e-retailers like Amazon and traditional retailers like Target.
He'll also need to push international growth and move into markets like India and China where
its business model may not even work. And he has to figure out an increasingly digital future
for a company whose success is built on a ruthlessly efficient supply chain, razor -thin profit
margins, and the location of its stores.
Coporate Affairs:-
Walmart is headquartered in the Walmart Home Office complex in Bentonville, Arkansas. The
company's business model is based on selling a wide variety of general merchandise at low
prices.[11] Doug McMillon became Walmart's CEO on February 1, 2014. He has also worked as
the head of Sam's Club and Walmart International. [324] The company refers to its employees as
"associates". All Walmart stores in the U.S. and Canada also have designated "greeters" at the
entrance, a practice pioneered by Sam Walton and later imitated by other retailers. Greeters
are trained to help shoppers find what they want and answer their questions. [325]
For many years, associates were identified in the store by their signature blue vest, but this
practice was discontinued in June 2007 and replaced with khaki pants and polo shirts. The
wardrobe change was part of a larger corporate overhaul to increase sales and rejuvenate the
company's stock price.[326] In September 2014, the uniform was again updated to bring back a
vest (paid for by the company) for store employees over the same polos and khaki or black
pants paid for by the employee. The vest is navy blue for Walmart employees at Supercenters
and discounts stores, lime green for Walmart Neighborhood Market employees, and yellow for
self-check-out associates; door greeters, and customer service managers. All three state
"Proud Walmart Associate" on the left breast and the "Spark" logo covering the back. [327]
Reportedly one of the main reasons the vest was reintroduced was that some customers had
trouble identifying employees.[328] In 2016, self-checkout associates, door greeters and
customer service managers began wearing a yellow vest to be better seen by customers. By
requiring employees to wear uniforms that are made up of standard "streetwear", Walmart is
not required to purchase the uniforms or reimburse employees which are required in some
states, as long as that clothing can be worn elsewhere. Businesses are only legally required to
pay for branded shirts and pants or clothes that would be difficult to wear outside of work. [329]
Unlike many other retailers, Walmart does not charge slotting fees to suppliers for their
products to appear in the store.[330] Instead, it focuses on selling more-popular products and
provides incentives for store managers to drop unpopular products. [330]
From 2006 to 2010, the company eliminated its layaway program. In 2011, the company
revived its layaway program.[331][332]
Walmart introduced its Site-To-Store program in 2007, after testing the program since 2004 on
a limited basis. The program allows walmart.com customers to buy goods online with a free
shipping option, and have goods shipped to the nearest store for pickup. [333]
On September 15, 2017, Walmart announced that it would build a new headquarters in
Bentonville to replace its current 1971 building and consolidate operations that have spread
out to 20 different buildings throughout Bentonville. [334]
According to watchdog group Documented, in 2020 Walmart contributed $140,000 to the Rule
of Law Defense Fund, a fund-raising arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association. [
Operating Division :-
Walmart U.S.[edit]
Walmart U.S. is the company's largest division, accounting for US$331.666 billion, or 65
percent of total sales, for fiscal 2019. [15][16] It consists of three retail formats that have become
commonplace in the United States: Supercenters, Discount Stores, Neighborhood Markets,
and other small formats. The discount stores sell a variety of mostly non-grocery products,
though emphasis has now shifted towards supercenters, which include more groceries. As of
October 31, 2022, there are a total of 4,720 Walmart U.S. stores. [2][3] In the United States, 90
percent of the population resides within 10 miles of a Walmart store. [144] The total number of
Walmart U.S. stores and Sam's Clubs combined is 5,320. [2][3]
The president and CEO of Walmart U.S. is John Furner. [145][146]
Walmart Supercenter[edit]

A Walmart Supercenter in Windham, Connecticut (Store #2022)

Walmart Supercenters, branded simply as "Walmart", are hypermarkets with sizes varying
from 69,000 to 260,000 square feet (6,400 to 24,200 square meters), but averaging about
178,000 square feet (16,500 square meters). [4] These stock general merchandise and a full-
service supermarket, including meat and poultry, baked goods, delicatessen, frozen foods,
dairy products, garden produce, and fresh seafood. Many Walmart Supercenters also have a
garden center, pet shop, pharmacy, Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo
processing lab, portrait studio, and numerous alcove shops, such as cellular phone stores, hair
and nail salons, video rental stores, local bank branches (such as Woodforest National Bank
branches in newer locations), and fast food outlets.
Many Walmart Supercenters currently feature McDonald's or Subway restaurants. In some
Canadian locations, Tim Hortons were opened. Recently, in several Supercenters, like the
Tallahassee, Florida and the Palm Desert, California locations, Walmart added Burger King to
their locations, and the location in Glen Burnie, Maryland, due to its past as a hypermarket
called Leedmark, which operated from May 1991 to January 1994, boasts an Auntie Anne's
and an Italian restaurant.
Some locations also have fuel stations which sell gasoline distributed by Murphy USA (which
spun off from Murphy Oil in 2013), Sunoco, Inc. ("Optima"), the Tesoro Corporation
("Mirastar"), USA Gasoline, and even now Walmart-branded gas stations.[147]
The first Supercenter opened in Washington, Missouri, in 1988. A similar concept, Hypermart
USA, had opened a year earlier in Garland, Texas. All Hypermart USA stores were later closed
or converted into Supercenters.
As of October 31, 2022, there were 3,572 Walmart Supercenters in 49 of the 50 U.S. states, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. [2][3] Hawaii is the only state to not have a Supercenter
location. The largest Supercenter in the world, covering 260,000 square feet (24,000 square
meters) on two floors, is located in Crossgates Commons in Albany, New York.[148]
A typical supercenter sells approximately 120,000 items, compared to the 35 million products
sold in Walmart's online store.[149]
The "Supercenter" name has since been phased out, with these stores now simply referred to
as "Walmart", since the company introduced the new Walmart logo in 2008. However, the
branding is still used in Walmart's Canadian stores (spelled as "Supercentre" in Canadian
English).[150]
Walmart Discount Store[edit]

The exterior of a Walmart Discount Store in Charlotte, North Carolina (Store #1821)
Walmart Discount Stores, also branded as simply "Walmart", are discount department stores
with sizes varying from 30,000 to 221,000 square feet (2,800 to 20,500 square meters), with
the average store covering 105,000 square feet (9,800 square meters). [4] They carry general
merchandise and limited groceries. Some newer and remodeled discount stores have an
expanded grocery department, similar to Target's PFresh department. Many of these stores
also feature a garden center, pharmacy, Tire & Lube Express, optical center, one-hour photo
processing lab, portrait studio, a bank branch, a cell phone store, and a fast food outlet. Some
also have gasoline stations.[147] Discount Stores were Walmart's original concept, though they
have since been surpassed by Supercenters. [33]
In 1990, Walmart opened its first Bud's Discount City location in Bentonville. Bud's operated as
a closeout store, much like Big Lots. Many locations were opened to fulfill leases in shopping
centers as Walmart stores left and moved into newly built Supercenters. All of the Bud's
Discount City stores had closed or converted into Walmart Discount Stores by 1997. [151]
At its peak in 1996, there were 1,995 Walmart Discount Stores, [152] but as of October 31, 2022,
that number was dropped to 365. [2][3]
Walmart Neighborhood Market[edit]

A 24-hour Walmart Neighborhood Market in Valdosta, Georgia (Store #6732)

Walmart Neighborhood Market, sometimes branded as "Neighborhood Market by Walmart"
or informally known as "Neighborhood Walmart", is Walmart's chain of supermarkets ranging
from 28,000 to 65,000 square feet (2,600 to 6,000 square meters) and averaging about 42,000
square feet (3,900 square meters), about a fifth of the size of a Walmart Supercenter. [4][153] The
first Walmart Neighborhood Market opened ten years after the first Supercenter opened, yet
Walmart renewed its focus on the smaller grocery store format in the 2010s. [154]
The stores focus on three of Walmart's major sales categories: groceries, which account for
about 55 percent of the company's revenue, [155][156] pharmacy, and, at some stores, fuel. [157]
For groceries and consumables, the stores sell fresh produce, deli and bakery items, prepared
foods, meat, dairy, organic, general grocery and frozen foods, in addition to cleaning products
and pet supplies.[153][158] Some stores offer wine and beer sales[153] and drive-through
pharmacies. Some stores, such as one at Midtown Center in Bentonville, Arkansas, offer made-
to-order pizza with a seating area for eating. [159] Customers can also use Walmart's site-to-
store operation and pick up online orders at Walmart Neighborhood Market stores just like
the Supercenters and Discount Stores[160]
Products at Walmart Neighborhood Market stores carry the same prices as those at Walmart's
larger supercenters. A Moody's analyst said the wider company's pricing structure gives the
chain of grocery stores a "competitive advantage" over competitors Whole Foods, Kroger and
Trader Joe's.[157]
Neighborhood Market stores expanded slowly at first as a way to fill gaps between Walmart
Supercenters and Discount Stores in existing markets. In its first 12 years, the company opened
about 180 Walmart Neighborhood Markets. By 2010, Walmart said it was ready to accelerate
its expansion plans for the grocery stores. [161] As of October 31, 2022, there were 682 Walmart
Neighborhood Markets,[2][3] each employing between 90 and 95 full-time and part-time
workers.[162] The total number of Neighborhood Markets and other small formats combined is
783.
Neighborhood Market, depending on the area, has some competition with Hy-Vee Fast &
Fresh, which launched in 2019 that is similar to Neighborhood Market.
Former stores and concepts[edit]

A Walmart Neighborhood Market originally planned to be a Walmart Express in Alma, Georgia

in September 2015 (Store #4229). This location closed in 2016 as part of a plan to close 269
stores globally.
Walmart opened Supermercado de Walmart locations to appeal to Hispanic communities in
the United States.[163] The first one, a 39,000-square-foot (3,600-square-meter) store in the
Spring Branch area of Houston, opened on April 29, 2009. [164] The store was a conversion of an
existing Walmart Neighborhood Market. [165] In 2009, another Supermercado de Walmart
opened in Phoenix, Arizona.[166] Both locations closed in 2014. [167] In 2009, Walmart opened
"Mas Club", a warehouse retail operation patterned after Sam's Club. Its lone store also closed
in 2014.[164]
Walmart Express was a chain of smaller discount stores with a range of services from groceries
to check cashing and gasoline service. The concept was focused on small towns deemed
unable to support a larger store and large cities where space was at a premium. Walmart
planned to build 15 to 20 Walmart Express stores, focusing on Arkansas, North Carolina, and
Chicago, by the end of its fiscal year in January 2012. As of September 2014, Walmart re-
branded all 22[168] of its Express format stores to Neighborhood Markets in an effort to
streamline its retail offer. It continued to open new Express stores under the Neighborhood
Market name. As of October 31, 2022, there were 101 small-format stores in the United
States. These include 92 other small formats, 8 convenience stores and 1 pickup location. [2][3]
On January 15, 2016, Walmart announced that it would be closing 269 stores globally,
including the 102 Neighborhood Markets that were formerly or originally planned to be
Express stores.[169]
Between 2002 and 2022, Walmart owned the Amigo supermarkets chain in Puerto Rico. In
2022, Walmart announced that it would sell its Amigo stores to Pueblo Inc. and focus on
modernizing its 18 Supercenter and Division 1 formats and 7 Sam’s Clubs stores. [170]
Initiatives[edit]
In September 2006, Walmart announced a pilot program to sell generic drugs at $4 per
prescription. The program was launched at stores in the Tampa, Florida, area, and by January
2007 had been expanded to all stores in Florida. While the average price of generics is $29 per
prescription, compared to $102 for name-brand drugs, Walmart maintains that it is not selling
at a loss, or providing them as an act of charity—instead, they are using the same mechanisms
of mass distribution that it uses to bring lower prices to other products. [171] Many of Walmart's
low cost generics are imported from India, where they are made by drug makers that include
Ranbaxy and Cipla.[172]
On February 6, 2007, the company launched a "beta" version of a movie download service,
which sold about 3,000 films and television episodes from all major studios and television
networks.[173] The service was discontinued on December 21, 2007, due to low sales. [174]
In 2008, Walmart started a pilot program in the small grocery store concept called Marketside
in the metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, area. The four stores closed in 2011. [175]

A Walmart Pickup location in Canada

In 2015, Walmart began testing a free grocery pickup service, allowing customers to select
products online and choose their pickup time. At the store, a Walmart employee loads the
groceries into the customer's car. As of December 17, 2017, the service is available in 39 U.S.
states.[176]
In May 2016, Walmart announced a change to ShippingPass, its three-day shipping service,
and that it will move from a three-day delivery to two-day delivery to remain competitive with
Amazon.[177] Walmart priced it at 49 dollars per year, compared to Amazon Prime's 99-dollar-
per-year price.[178][179]
In June 2016, Walmart and Sam's Club announced that they would begin testing a last-mile
grocery delivery that used services including Uber, Lyft, and Deliv, to bring customers' orders
to their homes. Walmart customers would be able to shop using the company's online grocery
service at grocery.walmart.com, then request delivery at checkout for a small fee. The first
tests were planned to go live in Denver and Phoenix.[180] Walmart announced on March 14,
2018, that it would expand online delivery to 100 metropolitan regions in the United States,
the equivalent of 40 percent of households, by the end of the year of 2018. [181]
Walmart's Winemakers Selection private label wine was introduced in June 2018 in about
1,100 stores. The wine, from domestic and international sources, was described by
Washington Post food and wine columnist Dave McIntyre as notably good for the inexpensive
($11 to $16 per bottle) price level. [182]
In October 2019, Walmart announced that customers in 2,000 locations in 29 states can use
the grocery pickup service for their adult beverage purchases. Walmart will also deliver adult
beverages from nearly 200 stores across California and Florida. [183]
In February 2020, Walmart announced a new membership program called, "Walmart +".