This decision on the stock exchange index certifies that Walmart has become a big tech. After all, the Arkansas-born giant is the only physical retailer that has been able to stand up to Amazon
European e-commerce risks speaking only American, with Amazon, German, with Lidl, or Chinese with JD.com, Temu and Shein
Amazon’s real challenges are in e-commerce, AI, cloud computing, data centres. Or in renewables where it is a major player in France but not in Italy because this government does not believe in it and above all has a major conflict of interest
In in-house production models such as those of Esselunga, Migros and Cactus, there are no conflicts of interest because private-label products are only sold through their own network outlets
Amazon’s first big push into robotic automation began in 2012, when it paid $775 million to buy robotics manufacturer Kiva. The acquisition transformed Amazon’s operations: no longer workers making miles but robots preparing products for deliveries. Then there is the deal with OpenAI
To understand the size: 40 billion is roughly 20% of Walmart’s total capitalisation of $806 billion. And traffic to US retail sites from GenAI browsers and chat services increased 4,700% year-on-year in July
The real crux of the matter is the technological acceleration of Walmart and Amazon, absolute leaders, absolutely unattainable for European retail, which will continue to suffer unfair competition from online platforms
Europeans get poorer, Americans richer even as US debt soars
From Bluetooth to track 90 million pallets to RFID sensors for digital identity for freshness and real time data to collaboration with ChatGPT Walmart has put the ‘turbo charge’ of innovation
These demographic changes represent a challenge and a momentous shift for the entire consumer world, whose marketing will have to evolve to serve a new army of single, over-65s. The labour shortage should not surprise us
The collapse of alcohol consumption worldwide amid market crises in the US, China and disaffection among the very young
The first steps are encouraging, and especially if it works in beauty, which is positioned somewhere between mass consumption and luxury, this could really pave the way for other categories such as fashion, accessories and design
