Wal-Mart acquiring social media firm to rev social e-commerce

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores said Monday it is acquiring Mountain View, Calif.-based social media company Kosmix to help strengthen its social and mobile commerce.



Wal-Mart, which has not disclosed the terms of the transaction, said it is interested in a social media technology platform Kosmix has developed that filters and organizes content in social networks to connect people with information that may be of interest to them.



"Social networking and mobile applications are increasingly becoming a part of our customers' day-to-day lives globally, influencing how they think about shopping, both online and in retail stores," Walmart vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said in a statement.



Kosmix will become part of the newly created @WalmartLabs. The group is expected to create technologies and businesses around social and mobile commerce that will support Wal-Mart's global multichannel strategy.



The acquisition is expected to close during the first half of the year.