It’s hard to beat the excitement that Amazon’s Prime Day and Walmart’s Days of Deals generated last week and, as may be expected, the two companies were comparatively quiet this week, albeit far from silent.
For starters, Amazon is currently preparing for Andy Jassy to sit in the CEO chair, a role he will officially assume on Monday — the online giant’s 27th birthday — and Walmart, while not making C-suite moves, still embarked on a handful of endeavors that it hopes will make a difference to customers.
Hot For Healthcare
Walmart continued its streak of investing in healthcare this week, rolling out what it says is the first-ever private brand analog insulin.
The new offering, available only via Walmart’s ReliOn brand, includes analog insulin vials and FlexPen. The box-store giant expects its insulin products to save shoppers between 58 percent and 75 percent off the cash price of branded analog insulin items.
In May, Walmart said it will acquire telehealth provider MeMD, which allows the company to enter the realm of 24/7 service offerings; and a month later, it began rolling out a new members-only prescription savings program that offers low-cost and no-cost medications through Walmart+.
With 220 million weekly customers and 90 percent of the U.S. population within 10 miles of a Walmart location, it’s clear why the retail giant is ramping up its healthcare investments — though it’s still falling slightly behind Amazon. Last month, it was reported that Amazon has attracted attention from numerous companies for its Amazon Care telehealth service, and a full list is set to be announced later this year.
Rewarding Customers
Walmart also struck a deal with cashback rewards platform Ibotta to develop and roll out a new digital offers program on Walmart’s website and app.
The program is an expansion of the relationship that Walmart and Ibotta started in 2018, and it will allow customers to earn cash rebates on future Walmart purchases or applied toward a Walmart+ membership.
The companies said they also see integration opportunities “with Walmart’s broader financial services offerings,” and though no details were provided on what this means or how it would work, it’s a noteworthy statement coming less than a week after Walmart said its MoneyCard will now be offered as a demand deposit account.
Walmart is also joining the Ibotta Performance Network, which will allow customers who are visiting recipe sites, social media networks and other platforms to be shown digital offers for relevant merchandise, which they will be able to purchase either online or in-store.
Janey Whiteside, executive vice president and chief customer officer of Walmart U.S., said in a statement that the partnership is “a win-win.”
“We’re able to find new and exciting ways to help customers save even more with Walmart, all while propelling our business forward, driving loyalty and creating new ways for us to engage suppliers,” she said.
Striking A Deal
Amazon is reportedly requiring some suppliers to grant the company the right to buy shares of their stock at steep discounts in exchange for lucrative contracts with the eCommerce giant — a deal that some companies likely can’t afford to refuse.
The Wall Street Journal reports, using both corporate filings and interviews with people involved with the deals, that Amazon has made 75 such agreements with private companies and at least a dozen publicly traded companies. Amazon’s potential stakes in these companies could be worth billions of dollars.
The types of businesses included range from call-center services to natural gas holdings, with Amazon getting board representation and the right to make a counteroffer if a company is for sale in some of the arrangements.
From Buttons To Shelves
With Amazon’s new Dash Shelf, the company hopes it can finally convince consumers to adopt automated shopping technology, which has had limited success in the past.
The Dash Shelf, a nondescript black rectangle that comes in three sizes, is linked to the company’s Dash Replenishment Services and is advertised as knowing when a customer is running low on items without the consumer having to do anything.
Dash products entered the market to a lot of fanfare, but Amazon seems to have struggled to get consumer on board. Wands entered and disappeared quickly in 2017, while physical Dash buttons were discontinued last year after about five years on the market.
With Dash Shelves, Amazon is hoping the third time is the charm — and if it is, it could be a boon to the company’s grocery business.
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