Walmart Reports 37% E-Commerce Growth

Need to Know 

• Walmart reports first-quarter earnings, boasting overall growth of 6% and revenue of over $138 billion.
• The retail giant’s e-commerce efforts grew 37% year-over-year.
• E-commerce now represents 12% of all Walmart sales.
• Walmart has invested heavily in innovation this past year to stay relevant amid the pandemic, diversifying its efforts in online sales, delivery, and shoppable video, and more

Analysis 

Walmart has reported its first-quarter earnings, sharing overall growth of 6 percent. In this quarter alone, the company brought in $138.31 billion in revenue, and shares have risen 2%.  

As life starts to return to normal in the US and Americans receive more stimulus checks, customers are keen to get out and shop. 

“You can tell people are starting to get back out,” said Walmart CFO Brett Biggs. “Stimulus helped in Q1, and because of that, we increased profit and revenue guidance.”

However, the convenience of online shopping clearly remains popular. Due to the ongoing popularity of online shopping, e-commerce sales rose a whopping 37% year-over-year. This is a big deal, as this quarter marks the first since reported numbers a year after stores originally closed in March 2020. If e-commerce sales are still climbing, even after the original push towards online shopping, then Walmart is witnessing a more consistent shift towards online retail.

Walmart also reported that 12% of its total sales come through e-commerce channels.

“We’ve basically doubled the [e-commerce] business the last couple of years,” said John Furner, CEO of Walmart US in the earnings call.

After the onset of the pandemic last year, the retail giant doubled down on efforts to increase its e-commerce capabilities. Walmart has expanded its in-home delivery service, launched shoppable cooking videos, and has even piloted a self-driving delivery vehicle for online orders. 

Spinning off from its shoppable TikTok videos, Walmart also recently launched its first-ever shoppable television show, “Unbox’d”. 

By tuning into the So Yummy TV channel, viewers can watch the competition show where social media food influencers compete with ingredients provided in a specially curated box. Viewers “can also get the shoppable recipes, or any other item seen on the show, sent directly to their phones by connecting via text [where] a link with a fully-shoppable recipe will be delivered instantly.”

Despite initial uncertainties at the start of the pandemic, Walmart has leaned into innovation across every possible channel, from fintech to healthcare, to stay relevant and keep business booming all year long. Clearly, the retail giant’s investments have paid off.