Walmart is planning to soon relaunch a revamped section of its website that caters to online sale of home goods and furnishings.
It would be a few more weeks that the new and enhanced section would be launched, the company said very recently. At the heart of the planning is to counter the threat posed by target where the company has made strong investments in its exclusive home brands. Amazon is also on the radar of the largest retailer of the world as the online retailer has also been investing in the same area. Additionally, furniture selling companies such as Wayfair, Stanley Furniture, Ikea and La-Z-Boy are also potential competitors of Walmart.
Designed by in-house stylists, the new and improved home décor and furniture section of Walmart.com – which has been named "All Things Home," will have furniture collections that would be grouped on the basis of current trends. Modern, midcentury, traditional, glam, industrial, bohemian, farmhouse, transitional and Scandinavian are the nine styles that would be available for users to select from. Designing tips would also be offered on the new page.
"Over the past year, we've nearly doubled our home assortment and introduced a wide variety of furniture and home decor items, like a new Scandinavian line of furniture for kids and refreshed assortment of modern furniture," said Anthony Soohoo, senior vice president of Walmart's e-commerce home division. "Now, it is going to be that much easier for customers to shop these items and more."
A more personal shopping experience online should be offered to customers for some retail business segments such as home goods and apparel, said Walmart's head of e-commerce, Marc Lore. Therefore, wihth this in mind, Walmart is following a strategy where virtual tours and showrooms would be available to users and viewers in segments such as rugs, crystal chandeliers, tank tops, knit skirts, etc.
The company noted a reduction in its profit margins primarily from a drop in the growth in sale in its e-commerce segment, the company had announced earlier in the week in its fourth quarter reporting. There was historic fall in the shares of the company following the announcement because investors were spooked by concerns that Walmart could be losing the battel that it has entered into against the e-retailing giant Amazon.com.
The company however said that the current year is important for them in terms of investments being made in its e-commerce business segment. For the fiscal 2019, a growth of 40 per cent is targeted by Walmart in its e-commerce business. Fulfillment of that aim starts off with the refurbished home shopping experience on its website.
"We expect the Walmart.com site redesign to be more attractive, user friendly and include better search ability and functionality," said Susquehanna analyst Bill Dreher. The new website's technology, brought over from Jet.com, "is expected to change the economics of e-commerce to focus on a bigger basket (for example, be profitable with seven units per order rather than less or unprofitable at two units per order) and a basket of blended-margin merchandise to drive basket economics."
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
It would be a few more weeks that the new and enhanced section would be launched, the company said very recently. At the heart of the planning is to counter the threat posed by target where the company has made strong investments in its exclusive home brands. Amazon is also on the radar of the largest retailer of the world as the online retailer has also been investing in the same area. Additionally, furniture selling companies such as Wayfair, Stanley Furniture, Ikea and La-Z-Boy are also potential competitors of Walmart.
Designed by in-house stylists, the new and improved home décor and furniture section of Walmart.com – which has been named "All Things Home," will have furniture collections that would be grouped on the basis of current trends. Modern, midcentury, traditional, glam, industrial, bohemian, farmhouse, transitional and Scandinavian are the nine styles that would be available for users to select from. Designing tips would also be offered on the new page.
"Over the past year, we've nearly doubled our home assortment and introduced a wide variety of furniture and home decor items, like a new Scandinavian line of furniture for kids and refreshed assortment of modern furniture," said Anthony Soohoo, senior vice president of Walmart's e-commerce home division. "Now, it is going to be that much easier for customers to shop these items and more."
A more personal shopping experience online should be offered to customers for some retail business segments such as home goods and apparel, said Walmart's head of e-commerce, Marc Lore. Therefore, wihth this in mind, Walmart is following a strategy where virtual tours and showrooms would be available to users and viewers in segments such as rugs, crystal chandeliers, tank tops, knit skirts, etc.
The company noted a reduction in its profit margins primarily from a drop in the growth in sale in its e-commerce segment, the company had announced earlier in the week in its fourth quarter reporting. There was historic fall in the shares of the company following the announcement because investors were spooked by concerns that Walmart could be losing the battel that it has entered into against the e-retailing giant Amazon.com.
The company however said that the current year is important for them in terms of investments being made in its e-commerce business segment. For the fiscal 2019, a growth of 40 per cent is targeted by Walmart in its e-commerce business. Fulfillment of that aim starts off with the refurbished home shopping experience on its website.
"We expect the Walmart.com site redesign to be more attractive, user friendly and include better search ability and functionality," said Susquehanna analyst Bill Dreher. The new website's technology, brought over from Jet.com, "is expected to change the economics of e-commerce to focus on a bigger basket (for example, be profitable with seven units per order rather than less or unprofitable at two units per order) and a basket of blended-margin merchandise to drive basket economics."
(Source:www.cnbc.com)