How Walmart became an advertising powerhouse whilst remaining focused on its food, non-food and e-commerce businesses

It is a pity that no Italian company has had the scale, but above all the vision, to take on the world in the way these giants have done. In Italy, everyone thought: e-commerce must be self-sustaining. This was the case for Esselunga at home until it had no rivals, but Amazon and Walmart disprove this view. E-commerce is underpinned by other, more profitable sources of revenue

Quick Take — US: inflation at 4.2%

Consumer prices rose by 4.2% in May compared with a year earlier, the US Department of Labour said on Wednesday, accelerating from 3.8% the previous month.

The figures highlighted by Andrea Montanino in the *Corriere della Sera* on 8 June 2026 arenoteworthy: the price of a gallon of petrol (= 4 litres) in the US rose from $2.91 (in February) to $4.43 in June, and the price of beef, partly due to climate change, has risen by 15% over the past year.

Today’s Wall Street Journal adds to this the AI boom, which will create a bottleneck for many supplies (for example: in IT, many components and equipment are no longer available except with long waiting lists and sky-high prices).

Then there is plastic, which is everywhere: from nappies to household and beauty products.

Drafted on 10 June, updated on 15 June 2026

Quick Take — Alibaba reports continued profit compression due to investments in artificial intelligence and instant retail (Quick e-commerce)

Alibaba reported a 3 per cent increase in revenue for the quarter ending 31 March, which fell short of expectations due to a slowdown in the company’s international e-commerce business (Total revenue stood at 243.38 billion yuan for the quarter, or €30.6 billion)

Cloud Intelligence revenues increased by 38%, with artificial intelligence products now accounting for 30% of external cloud revenues. Earlier this year, the company separated its artificial intelligence business from its cloud computing division.

Alibaba said adjusted EBITDA fell 84 per cent due to spending on technology and fast-track commerce, which involves deliveries within 60 minutes. Reuters

There has long been an e-commerce and delivery war going on in China, which, like in the US, has the same customers.

Quick Take — Sam’s Club (Walmart): ‘At Sam’s Club we do not consider e-commerce as a separate channel’

It is a division of the Walmart Group, which had a turnover of $92.6 billion in 2024 “Sam’s” is named after its founder, Sam Walton.

E-commerce is growing by 23% (and for Walmart it weighs $150 billion) and as we see from this excerpt, the giant now delivers (ready-to-eat) food, competing with DoorDash, UberEats etc.: …almost two-thirds of Sam’s e-commerce business is now handled directly by shops, which, as [Greg ] Pulsifer (senior VP of Sam’s) acknowledges, is “the textbook definition of an omnichannel company”.

About 70 per cent of the retailer’s members also sign up online… Last month, Sam’s Club launched its Express delivery service, which promises delivery of orders within an hour

Another noteworthy innovation in e-commerce is Sam’s Club’s entry into the pizza delivery business, which began exactly one year ago. “I think the interesting thing is that the history of pizza started with roast chicken,” Pulsifer reflects. “Roast chicken was one of the most popular products for in-store pick-up and we wanted to find a way to make it available for home delivery as well, which was a challenging problem to solve.” Sam’s Club now delivers more than 22,000 pizzas per week and uses artificial intelligence to predict the busiest days for deliveries to anticipate customer demand…

Progressive Grocer

Quick Take — The retail sector is changing its skin: unfaithful customers, agent AI, autonomous stores and promotions that are no longer enough. And then there is localism

…The local product is no longer a simple reference, but an identity tool. Some brands support small producers in the development of recipes, packaging and quality processes, transforming the large-scale retail trade into an ecosystem that enhances local supply chains. The private label is evolving: no longer just a convenience lever, but a system of values capable of dialoguing with communities, digital creators and new targets. In some brands it already represents more than half of the turnover ( Below: Esselunga ‘produced in Tuscany’ labels introduced more than 30 years ago for fresh products and still used today: in 2003, 70% of our suppliers invoiced less than 100K)…

From intelligent trolleysto agent AI, from autonomous stores to the rediscovery of the territory, a rapidly evolving large-scale retail sector emerges: technological, data-driven, automated, but at the same time more human, local and relational. A sector that interprets increasingly fragmented and fluid needs, building a new balance between innovation and proximity.

I hope with all my heart that these changes will take place, especially the technological ones, but I wonder: when it comes to technology on social (AI, e-commerce, customised promotions, etc.) how come there seems to be no interest on the part of Italian users?

Drafted 9 May, updated 10 May 2026

Quick Take — The retailer’s brand reaches 50% in the main European markets, setting a new record. In Italy, however, it remains at 36%

According to Circana, growth is set to accelerate in 2026: inflation and Ai-driven shopping will favour the cheapest products for the same benefits …

circana’s analysis finds that retailers have managed to keep prices low and quality high. MDDs are intercepting health and lifestyle trends, offering premium offerings and innovative product launches with more dynamism than national brands. Retailers’ strategy of targeting social media content at younger shoppers who are less loyal to traditional brands is also playing a key role in sustaining demand…

Below: Esselunga, under my leadership, was already at around 35% private label in 2003 (thanks to the Esselunga, Naturama, Esselunga Bio and Fidel brands, the first price created to combat discount stores).