Walmart Doubles Down on People-First Digital Transformation

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Walmart detailed how new AI, GenAI, and AR technologies are reimagining the discounter’s role as a shopping destination. However, Doug McMillon, president and CEO, stressed that Walmart’s “people-led, tech-powered” approach continues.

“Technology is powering new experiences,” said McMillon at the event. “But don’t miss that this is a story about people and their willingness to learn and change, a willingness to adapt, and our ability to imagine tomorrow and bring it to life.”

Among the innovations unveiled at CES, Walmart showcased an upgraded GenAI-powered search experience that uses large language models, including Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI, to let customers search by specific use cases. For example, when planning a Super Bowl party, Walmart’s customers in the past ran numerous searches for chips, wings, drinks, and big-screen TVs. Now, a “Super Bowl Party” search generates relevant, cross-category results.

McMillon said, “Our new search fundamentally changes the way customers engage with us. We become a partner in accomplishing a broader goal like throwing a great party.”

Also online, a new feature, “Shop with Friends,” taps AR to let customers share virtual outfits they create with friends and get feedback on their fashion finds. At the store level, Walmart’s Sam’s Club chain is introducing a technology that lets Scan & Go users avoid waiting in line for receipt verification when exiting the club.

For associates, the My Assistant GenAI tool rolled out in North America in August is being expanded internationally.

Around delivery, Walmart is adding replenishment to its InHome service that delivers goods straight to the customer’s garage or kitchen refrigerator. Whitney Pegden, VP and GM, Walmart InHome, said at Walmart’s CES presentation, “It learns a customer’s purchase patterns to determine the perfect cadence to restock their essentials.”

Walmart further announced that it is expanding drone delivery to 1.8 million additional households in Dallas-Fort Worth, reaching 75% of the area.

Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s EVP and global CTO, said technology is particularly supporting omnichannel behavior across three areas: discovery, purchase, and receive. “This is adaptive retail, meaning that every engagement is interconnected. It’s frictionless and it exceeds expectations,” said Kumar. “We are agile. We are predictive. We are responsive. We are not thinking separately about e-commerce or in-store. We are designing one adaptive, seamless experience for the customer.”

Walmart’s tech investments come as both consumers and firms share concerns about an increasingly digital retail experience, particularly with GenAI’s arrival. A survey of more than 400 C-suite and IT professionals from Portal26 and CensusWide from last fall found that 85% are concerned about GenAI’s privacy and security risks.

Speaking at the Walmart session at CES, Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, said that as with all technologies, “one has to be mindful that you want to be able to amplify the opportunity with it. And then also be very mindful of the unintended consequences of this technology.”

However, he talked up GenAI’s potential to “empower” both associates and consumers with more intuitive tools that incorporate greater insights and predictive power. Nadella remarked, “At Comdex in 1990…Bill Gates first talked about something called ‘information at your fingertips.’ What we now in 2024 have is ‘expertise at our fingertips,’ and that’s what’s exciting for all of us.”

“We build technology to serve people and not the other way around,” emphasized McMillon. “Walmart’s purpose is to help people live better, and today, more than ever, advances in technology make it feel like anything is possible. Our technology roadmap is compelling and we’re very excited about it, but we’re clear that we are a people-led, tech-powered company. People, our customers and associates, come first and we’ll put technology to work to serve them better than ever.”