Big day for the retail sector. On Tuesday, October 10, Marc Lore, president of Wal-Mart’s U.S. e-commerce business, announced that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:$WMT) is planning a website redesign to be revealed in the first quarter of 2018.
The retailer reportedly plans to invest heavily in online grocery and e-commerce in the coming months. Why? Wal-Mart is aiming to double its online grocery pickup locations across the United States by the end of 2018. Until that happens, Wal-Mart will continue to slow its physical store growth.
At Wal-Mart’s annual investor day in Bentonville, Arkansas, Lore said that Walmart.com will soon feature Jet.com’s “smart-cart” system. For those who don’t know, Wal-Mart acquired Jet, an e-retailer, in 2016 for more than $3 billion. This deal was significant, as it helped increase Wal-Mart’s online sales by more than 60%.
The retail giant plans to bring in roughly 2,000 “category specialists” to watch over the company’s website and rewrite item descriptions, among other things. Additionally, Lore said the company has already hired 250 specialists and is currently bringing in about 50 each month.
After the news Tuesday, Wal-Mart shares increased more than 4.5%. This puts the stock on pace to reach its best day since May of last year, when shares jumped almost 10%.
Featured Image: depositphotos/wolterke
