Walmart

Customers at all of Walmart’s 4,600-plus U.S. stores can now use the Walmart Pay digital payment service.   This is an impressive feat, especially considering Walmart Pay was only announced in December 2015 and didn’t start undergoing official rollout until May 2016. While everyone agrees Walmart Pay reaching full implementation is a big deal, there is less agreement on how this will affect the digital payment landscape.  

Walmart grocery shoppers in North Carolina and Virginia may notice an improved assortment.   The discount giant is opening a 450,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Mebane, North Carolina, on Wednesday, July 13. The facility, which cost nearly $100 million, will be dedicated to distributing perishables to stores in North Carolina and Virginia.  

Wal-Mart Stores is being challenged with employee protests and unofficial strikes by its employees in China.

The Walmart Pay mobile digital payment service only began formal rollout in May 2016, but has already reached an impressive goal.   Initially announced in December 2015, Walmart Pay is now available of all of Walmart’s more than 4,600 U.S. stores. Available through the Walmart app for iOS and Android devices, Walmart Pay works at all checkout lanes, and with any credit, debit, pre-paid or Walmart gift card.  

It’s important to look beyond the traditional hard metrics of ROI to determine the bottom line value of an IT solution. Here are five key areas CFOs need to consider when evaluating technology:

1. Sales growth: There are many types of applications that can drive increased sales, but some of the most common are solutions that optimize pricing, including markdowns. Determining the ideal price for maximizing sales without cutting profits at a store level is too complex for merchants to do on their own.

Parents are opening their wallets for the upcoming academic year, but being selective in what, where and how they buy.  

Walmart did not reach its stated goal of rolling out the Walmart Pay digital payment service to every store by the end of June, but it certainly made a lot of headway.  

Tuesday, July 12 marks the return of Amazon Prime Day.   Based on last year’s results, Amazon will grab a sizable chunk of all online sales that day. Special “countdown deals” starting July 5 will also help funnel more e-commerce traffic than normal in Amazon’s direction. Walmart is countering with its own July online sales event built around its ShippingPass free shipping program.