pymnts Profile:
Walmart (NYSE: WMT)
Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31, 1969.
Amazon, Walmart Shift Retail Competition From Price to Technology
March 6, 2026
Retail used to compete primarily on assortment, price and convenience. Increasingly, it competes on infrastructure and positioning. In a consumer environment defined by uncertainty driven by persistent inflation pressures, cautious spending ...Read morePattern Group Revenue Rises 40% as AI Product Discovery Reshapes eCommerce
March 5, 2026
Pattern Group’s fourth quarter results, posted after the market closed on Thursday (March 5), reflect broader shifts underway in digital retail as brands expand across more marketplaces and artificial intelligence ...Read moreSplitit and Google Prepare Installment Payments for AI Shopping Agents
March 5, 2026
Splitit aims to make flexible payment options part of agentic commerce through its support of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). Splitit joins Google and dozens of retail giants in supporting this ...Read moreKroger’s New CEO Bets on Deals, AI and eCommerce to Boost Sales
March 5, 2026
Kroger’s new CEO Greg Foran is signaling a shift in strategy toward sharper pricing and stronger digital engagement as the grocery giant looks to accelerate sales growth. Reporting its Q4 earnings ...Read moreCorporate Earnings Confirm PYMNTS Data on a Cautious but Active Consumer
March 4, 2026
Corporate earnings releases and conference calls often serve as a real-time test of economic narratives. Management observations offer insight into how consumers behave at the checkout counter and whether they are ...Read moreIndia’s PhonePe Aims For $10.5 Billion Valuation in IPO
March 4, 2026
Indian payments platform PhonePe reportedly hopes to go public at a valuation of $9 billion to $10.5 billion. This indicates that the Walmart-backed company will raise around $900 million to $1.05 ...Read moreMeta Explores AI-Powered Shopping Research Tool
March 3, 2026
Meta is reportedly testing a shopping research function in its AI chatbot. That’s according to a report late Monday (March 3) from Bloomberg News, which says this tool would rival a ...Read moreWalgreens Brings Hybrid Pharmacy Program to 6 States
March 2, 2026
Walgreens has debuted what it calls the country’s first “hybrid pharmacy” program. The service, announced by the retailer last week, lets pharmacists divide their time between working in stores for part of the ...Read moreTarget Faces Pushback From Investors on Management Tactics
March 1, 2026
Target is reportedly facing criticism from a group of investors unhappy with its management’s decisions. That’s according to a report Friday (Feb. 27) from Reuters, which noted that this push is ...Read moreGrocery Battle Shifts to Loyalty as Walmart Dominates and Amazon Expands Digital
February 27, 2026
When it comes to the Amazon-Walmart competition, grocery has become a key battleground. Why? It’s the closest thing U.S. retail has to a weekly subscription. Win the cart, and you ...Read more
Uber Launches Exchangeable Bond Deal Featuring Rare Structure
May 20, 2025
A $1.2 billion exchangeable bond deal announced last week by Uber Technologies reportedly features a rare structure that is appealing to investors and to Uber. The deal is tied to Uber’s ...Read moreAutonomous Transport Could Drive Trucking Into Digital Transformation’s Fast Lane
May 15, 2024
In America, we move most of our goods by road. This makes trucks and 18-wheelers a crucial, even definitive, part of any supply chain. It also highlights the compounding impact of ...Read moreUber Eats and Waymo Roll Out Autonomous Delivery in Phoenix
April 3, 2024
Uber is expanding its Phoenix-based partnership with autonomous vehicle company Waymo. The company announced Wednesday (April 3) that it is now offering Uber Eats deliveries in the Arizona capital via Waymo vehicles. “Starting today in Phoenix, ...Read moreContinental and Aurora Finalize Autonomous Trucking System Design
January 5, 2024
Mobility technology firm Continental and self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation have finalized the design of a scalable autonomous trucking system and plan to start production in 2027. Finalizing the design and ...Read moreWaymo Via, Uber Freight Sign Partnership on Self-Driving Trucks
June 7, 2022
Waymo Via, Alphabet’s self-driving trucking unit, has signed a deal with Uber’s Freight business to help future customers deploy autonomous trucks more easily, Reuters wrote Tuesday (June 7). The partnership could ...Read moreSelf-Driving Truck Hauls 40K Pounds Of Butter Across US
December 30, 2019
Silicon Valley startup Plus.ai is thought to be the first company to deploy a self-driving commercial truck to haul 40,000 pounds of butter roughly 42 hours cross-country from Tulare, California ...Read moreWaymo Returns Its Self-Driving Trucks To Arizona
May 30, 2019
Waymo‘s self-driving trucks are making a return to Arizona. The company’s self-driving, Class 8, big-rig trucks haven’t been in the state for more than a year, though they were first tested ...Read moreDriverless Trucks Hog the Highway to an Autonomous Vehicle Future
October 2, 2018
Driverless cars are indeed coming to roads soon enough — the U.K.’s transport secretary, in fact, recently predicted that those vehicles would appear there within four years. Even so, it might ...Read moreEx-Uber, Otto Exec’s Autonomous Truck Startup Snags $40M
August 8, 2018
Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving vehicle startup, announced that it raised $40 million in Series A funding, led by global investment firm Battery Ventures. CRV, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tusk Ventures ...Read moreDaimler Unveils eMobility Unit For Trucks And Buses
June 6, 2018
Combining its efforts from five divisions, Daimler Trucks is rolling out an eMobility unit. The idea behind the unit is to speed up the creation of battery-powered engines for use ...Read more
Elon Musk Says Tesla’s Robots Could One Day Reach AGI-Level Intelligence
March 5, 2026
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company could eventually build humanoid robots capable of artificial general intelligence (AGI), according to a report published Thursday (March 5) by Seeking Alpha. Musk on ...Read moreChinese Tech Firm Honor Debuts Humanoid Robot and Robot Phone
March 1, 2026
Chinese device marker Honor has reportedly introduced a humanoid robot and “robot phone.” The company demonstrated those products Sunday (March 1) at MWC Barcelona 2026, Bloomberg News reported, calling it Honor’s ...Read moreZaiNar Raises $100 Million for AI-Powered GPS Alternative
February 19, 2026
California-based startup ZaiNar has raised $100 million to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered GPS alternative. That $100 million figure includes the $10 million the company recently took in, valuing it at ...Read moreRobots, Compliance and AI Receptionists: $1.45 Billion Backs AI Embedded in Real Operations
February 17, 2026
Across robotics, media production, healthcare administration, compliance and small-business front desks, startups raised capital by promising measurable output: robots on factory floors, video assets in production pipelines and prior authorizations ...Read moreApptronik Raises $520 Million to Roll Out Humanoid Robot
February 11, 2026
Apptronik has raised $520 million as it prepares to launch a new humanoid robot. The Austin-based company announced its Series A-X funding round Wednesday (Feb. 11), with investors including Google and ...Read moreConstruction Embraces AI Agents, Safety Systems and Robotics as Labor Pressures Mount
February 10, 2026
Artificial intelligence is no longer confined to experimental pilots in the construction industry. It is moving into the operational core of how projects are planned, monitored and executed, driven by ...Read moreAlibaba Debuts AI That Helps Robots Understand Their Surroundings
February 10, 2026
Chinese tech giant Alibaba has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to power robotics. As CNBC reported Tuesday (Feb. 10), the company’s RynnBrain was developed to help robots grasp their ...Read moreLabor Economy Workers Less Worried Than Office Workers About Robots Taking Their Jobs
February 10, 2026
Despite high-profile demos from the likes of xAI and AWS and aggressive corporate roadmaps, PYMNTS Intelligence’s Wage to Wallet Index™ shows that workers who could be most exposed to automation ...Read moreChina Looks to Become Leader in Humanoid Robots Sector
February 8, 2026
China is reportedly stepping up efforts to gain dominance in the humanoid robotics space. As The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Saturday (Feb. 7), that country now has more than 140 ...Read moreHumanoid Robots Are Falling Short on Efficiency
January 26, 2026
Humanoid robots have become one of the most visible symbols of artificial intelligence (AI) moving from software into the physical economy. Built to walk, lift, grasp and interact in human environments, ...Read more
Consumer Discretionary Brands Face Steepest Earnings Slump Since 2020
March 6, 2026
Companies in the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector are lagging behind other sectors in earnings due tohigh costs and soft demand, Bloomberg reported Friday (March 6). While 73% of companies across ...Read moreeCommerce a Bright Spot Amid Overall Retail Sales Dip
March 6, 2026
Consumer spending cooled slightly in January, although strong growth in digital retail channels suggests that the broader trajectory of household consumption remains intact. Advance estimates released Friday (March 6) by the ...Read moreAmazon, Walmart Shift Retail Competition From Price to Technology
March 6, 2026Retail used to compete primarily on assortment, price and convenience. Increasingly, it competes on infrastructure and positioning. In a consumer environment defined by uncertainty driven by persistent inflation pressures, cautious spending ...Read moreSplitit and Google Prepare Installment Payments for AI Shopping Agents
March 5, 2026Splitit aims to make flexible payment options part of agentic commerce through its support of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). Splitit joins Google and dozens of retail giants in supporting this ...Read moreKroger’s New CEO Bets on Deals, AI and eCommerce to Boost Sales
March 5, 2026Kroger’s new CEO Greg Foran is signaling a shift in strategy toward sharper pricing and stronger digital engagement as the grocery giant looks to accelerate sales growth. Reporting its Q4 earnings ...Read moreCorporate Earnings Confirm PYMNTS Data on a Cautious but Active Consumer
March 4, 2026Corporate earnings releases and conference calls often serve as a real-time test of economic narratives. Management observations offer insight into how consumers behave at the checkout counter and whether they are ...Read moreTarget Looks to Build Sales Momentum Through AI-Driven Personalization
March 3, 2026
Gains in eCommerce, same-day delivery expansion and stepped-up artificial intelligence personalization framed Target’s fourth quarter as an inflection point, even as overall comparable sales remained negative. CEO Michael Fiddelke said in ...Read moreAI-Generated Damage Claims Trigger Retail Crackdown on Return Fraud
March 3, 2026
Retailers are facing a new and more sophisticated form of return fraud, one in which artificial intelligence is being used against them. Shoppers are submitting AI-generated images of damaged or ...Read moreBest Buy Bets on AI as Consumers Avoid Big-Ticket Items
March 3, 2026
Best Buy is focused on digital innovation as shoppers continue to show caution. The electronics retailer released quarterly earnings results Tuesday (March 3) that showed a 0.8% dip in sales as ...Read moreWalgreens Brings Hybrid Pharmacy Program to 6 States
March 2, 2026Walgreens has debuted what it calls the country’s first “hybrid pharmacy” program. The service, announced by the retailer last week, lets pharmacists divide their time between working in stores for part of the ...Read more
Walmart Teams With Fiserv on Instant Bank Payments
September 19, 2024
Walmart is reportedly enhancing its pay-by-bank offering via a partnership with Fiserv. The retailer began offering pay-by-bank with Walmart Pay earlier this year, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Sept. 19). But those transactions, ...Read moreNew Data: 95 Pct. Of Consumers Don’t Use Mobile Wallets For In-Store Purchases
April 6, 2020
Among its many profound impacts, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered how consumers shop. Even before large-scale stay-at-home policies went into effect, most consumers sought to limit direct contact with ...Read moreREPORT: What Apple Pay At Five Says About The Future Of Mobile POS Payments
October 21, 2019
Apple Pay went live five years ago yesterday, on Oct. 20, 2014. When Tim Cook took the stage a month beforehand to announce this mobile payments innovation, he shared Apple’s vision ...Read moreCuring Medicine’s Epidemic Of Noncompliance
March 22, 2018
The New York Times wrote in April 2017 that the U.S. was in the throes of an epidemic for which there was not only a cure, but one that would ...Read moreMobile Wallets: Where’s The S-Curve?
February 26, 2018
The classic product lifecycle that all of us had drilled into our heads in business school tells us that at the three-year mark for any new product, it’s top of ...Read moreWhat Payments Innovators Can Learn From Monkeys
January 15, 2018
About 30 days from now, most of you reading this who made a New Year’s resolution will have broken it. Don’t feel too bad – you won’t be alone. By the middle ...Read moreMotivating Mobile In 2018
January 4, 2018
Another year, another chance for mobile wallet players to convince consumers to give up their plastic cards and utilize the phone as a payments form factor. It hasn’t been easy. Despite ...Read moreMobile Payments 2.0: Building Better Retail Experiences
December 28, 2017
Payments has by and large been a growth business for the last half decade or so, and that fact has been mappable in scores of innovations around the world. But, as ...Read moreTarget: Another Day, A New “Pay” Joins The Party
December 7, 2017
For a minute, it seemed as though the proliferation of “Pays” was slowing down. Until recently, there was a tidal wave of Pays out to conquer digital with the power of mobile payments. Apple Pay, ...Read moreWhat Walmart’s Resurgence Means For Retail And The “Pays”
November 20, 2017
Accomplished public intellectual and post-Keynesian economist John Kenneth Galbraith was well-known for four things. He didn’t think much of math and science — rather unusual given his choice of a profession that ...Read more