The eCommerce arena can be tough for retailers to navigate. It seems like there’s something new happening every day that forces it off course. One recent disrupter is multinational retail corporation Walmart.
With one of the larger online retail presences, Walmart is taking aim at a lucrative eCommerce market — China.
As PYMNTS reported earlier this week, China’s online sales have recently seen a massive increase with in-country online shopping activities boosted by 33 percent. Given the tight race between it and Amazon, it’s no wonder Walmart is focusing its efforts on one of the largest eCommerce-savvy regions in the world.
According to recent news reports, Walmart is partnering with JD.com — a Chinese eCommerce company headquartered in Beijing — to launch the first JD-Walmart 8.8 omnichannel shopping festival. This event, held August 8, 2017, will reduce prices across both JD.com and Walmart avenues and reward any consumers making purchases at more than one touch point. The purpose behind this partnership is to help jumpstart the companies’ joint initiatives, including inventory integration, customer integration and store and platform integration.
With JD.com’s delivery team reaching approximately 99 percent of the Chinese population, this move will likely help to boost Walmart’s presence in the region.
Walmart China’s eCommerce and technology senior vice president, Ben Hassing, commented on the partnership and how it will help move the needle for the U.S.-based retailer.
Advertisement: Scroll to Continue
“Since forming our strategic partnership with JD.com in June of last year, we have continued to expand our omnichannel strategy to better serve customers and grow our business in China,” said Hassing. “Our ability to tap into JD.com’s advantages across logistics, big data, technology and customer service gives Walmart a huge advantage in reaching China’s rapidly expanding consumer class.”
Following this festival, and along with its increased stock share in JD.com and five storefronts, it may be safe to say that Walmart is leading the eCommerce charge in China.
