The battle between Amazon and Walmart is heating up as Walmart moves to embrace digital channels even further into the grocery shopping experience, Forbes reported.
The company has brought the Scan and Go app to Android users (after an initial availability for iPhone users), with testing underway at one store and an aim at other stores eventually. That Scan and Go process is geared toward smoothing the checkout process. As the name implies, users can scan items even as those items are being dropped into shopping carts. Payment is also done through the app. Upon showing payment receipts on the phone itself, customers are free to leave the store post purchase. Forbes said the Android availability means that the company is broadening its digital appeal.
The competitive landscape is heating up as Amazon Go is making some headway in the physical shopping experience, as consumers shop in-store and exit via app. The process is still a bit different as Forbes stated that the Walmart offering has manual scanning in place, followed by payment and then showing the digital receipt.
The grocery segment is a $600 billion market in the United States alone, said Forbes, and grocery also helps propel foot traffic in large multi-offering retailers such as Walmart.
