Walmart is using its unmatched brick-and-mortar network to compete with Amazon by Daniel Keyes on Nov 28, 2017, 10:40 AM Advertisement
 This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "E-Commerce Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. Walmart.com’s prices were, on average, only .3% higher than Amazon’s over nearly a year-long period ending November 7, 2017, according to a study from Market Track cited by Reuters. The difference is down from 3%, which was the average difference between December 7, 2015 and November 21, 2016. Walmart.com has closed the gap in a number of product categories, and now offers lower prices, on average, than Amazon on TVs, toys & games, wearables, headphones, and sports & outdoors. In the previous period, Walmart trailed Amazon in the latter three categories. This will help Walmart compete online with Amazon, as it can now offer the low prices its brick-and-mortar stores are known for. The retail giant made its name as a low-price physical retailer, but when it moved to the e-commerce space, it found that Amazon was able to regularly beat its prices. It has since invested in its own e-commerce efforts, and has made a number of acquisitions in order to compete. Those investments appear to be paying off, as it can now go toe-to-toe with Amazon on price, giving it a competitive edge in certain categories. Walmart is using its unmatched brick-and-mortar network to offer lower prices online. The retailer has been offering pickup discounts to save on last-mile delivery costs, and has been handing those savings to consumers in the form of a discount. This initiative has the potential to lower prices on Walmart.com in a way that Amazon can't replicate since it doesn't have a comparable network of physical locations, though it could look to utilize Whole Foods in a similar fashion. Walmart is also investing in pickup technology, via its Pickup Towers, to make the experience positive for consumers. This move could further encourage buy online pickup in-store (BOPIS) transactions, helping Walmart’s online pricing efforts. To receive stories like this one directly to your inbox every morning, sign up for the E-Commerce Briefing newsletter. Click here to learn more about how you can gain risk-free access today.
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