Walmart's Shopper Dilemma

The Lempert Report
November 30, 2022

Phil: So talking about some retail trends, there's a new report that just came out about Walmart, that not only Walmart has an 8.2% increase over last year, and the shopper visits have increased 2.1%, their e-commerce sales rep, 16%. But according to John David Rainey, who's the executive vice president and CFO of Walmart, what he said is three quarters get this, three quarters of the share gain are coming from those shoppers who have a hundred thousand dollars in income or more. So I guess the question is Walmart now getting more upscale? 

Sally: Well, we'll have to see, Phil, you know, if Walmart can hold onto these customers as inflation settles down if prices do go down, you know, are the products that they are offering there at Walmart, enough to keep that higher income shopper. But what the good news is is for Walmart is that they are seeing such an increase in their app downloads and their digital engagement. And you know, for me, Phil, that is where their pro, that's probably where they're getting a lot of these new customers is, you know, they're just making it easy to find things online and making it easy to get good deals and, and offering a variety online. 

Phil: And also, you know, you might not want to go into a Walmart store but shopping on Walmart or being a Walmart plus member you can get all those benefits without having to go into the store. 

Sally: Absolutely. Those are good benefits that they have.