Find my comment at the bottom of the Progressive Grocer article
How Walmart makes holiday shopping magic
John Laney, EVP/Food at Walmart, explains the customer-centric vision behind the new meal basket
With 28 items, including ham, Christmas side dishes such as green beans and sweet potatoes, and desserts such as pumpkin pie and pecan pie, Walmart ‘s new basket offers a complete and convenient festive meal solution for up to 12 people.
Walmart is doubling down on the value to ensure that families across America can celebrate their traditions in a convenient, affordable and joyful way from now until New Year’s Eve.
In an exclusive interview with Progressive Grocer, John Laney, EVP of Food at Walmart in the US, shared insights on the company’s new Holiday Ham Basket, explaining that the offering builds on Walmart ‘s customer-centric approach when it comes to its grocery assortment, omnichannel offerings, private brands, and even community partnerships, all of which are highly appealing to an inflation-weary but resilient shopper who is ready to celebrate.
“We see a pretty resilient consumer who continues to celebrate the things that matter in their lives and that includes key holidays and key moments,” Laney said. “We just had our big Thanksgiving [Thanksgiving] programme for under $7 per person. We put together a full basket of products to make it easy and affordable for them. And as we approach Christmas, I think we need to do more of the same. With our new Christmas hamper, we will be aggressive in the way we price and position this to have a successful Christmas season ahead of us. Our customers prioritise the moments that matter, such as holidays and milestones with their loved ones, and we want to show up for them in those moments”.
Revolutionising meal solutions
Walmart’s new Christmas meal basket reflects this commitment.
With 28 items, including ham, festive side dishes such as green beans and sweet potatoes, and desserts such as pumpkin pie and pecan pie, the basket offers an affordable and complete solution for holiday meals for up to 12 people. At just under $5 per person, it allows families to save money without sacrificing quality or tradition.
Laney says last month’s Thanksgiving meal programme resulted in ‘double-digit growth’ for the basket for the retailer.
“A really exciting and consistent performance across the portfolio as well,” Laney said. “It wasn’t one of those situations where there was one product line driving 90 per cent of the growth. It was very consistent. But we were strong at the centre of the plate, and Thanksgiving is all about turkey and for Christmas, it’s all about ham. What matters most to customers is the centre of the plate; they want a high quality protein source that is easy to prepare for their families’.
During the holiday season, Walmart has more than 3,000 price rollbacks [promotions] in groceries and more than 6,000 rollbacks throughout the shop. For the retailer, the focus is not only on discounts for individual items, but also on ensuring that the total cost of the shopping cart remains affordable.
“What matters most is the receipt when customers walk out the door,” Laney said. “Our pricing strategy is designed to give them confidence that they are saving money overall.”
This year’s Holiday Ham Basket was designed in March, Laney said, with the retailer leveraging customer-driven data and supplier partnerships to ensure the best quality products and prices.
“Customers tell us what they want,” Laney said. And it’s up to us to find the best prices, to find the best quality products that we can, and to build it in a way that appeals to as many people as possible. You know, everyone has a nuance about how they serve a festive meal. We don’t focus on the nuances. We focus on the most important items that everyone serves at every event. And we want to market that basket and not just the items in the basket. And so we listen to the customers. And then we go out and work with our suppliers to find the best possible supply chain, with the best quality products with the best price we can get, and present it in a way that is meaningful to the customer.”
This is the third year Walmart will offer a holiday meal basket, and this one is better than ever, Laney said. “They keep getting better. They’re doing better. The relevance is better, the assortment is better.”
How they want it
In addition toaccessibility, Walmart understands that convenience is a key driver of shopper traffic during the holiday season, as consumers are particularly short on time.
Walmart’s omnichannel capabilities have redefined grocery retailing, allowing customers to shop in-store, order online or opt for delivery with ease. This flexibility has been instrumental in the company’s growth because customers can count on a seamless experience, whether they are purchasing a single item or a full holiday feast. During the holiday season, the retailer made it very easy for customers to add the entire meal basket to their digital shopping carts with just one click.
“This year, there is one less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas, making the time even more precious for families,” Laney noted. “Customers can click add to cart for the entire cart online; this saves people a lot of time. So solving the problem of an affordable holiday meal is only half the equation. The other half is how we leverage the full scale of Walmart to save them time as well.”
When Walmart reported its third-quarter earnings [I think we mean revenue] a few weeks ago, the retailer said its digital grocery orders grew 22 per cent in the third quarter alone, reflecting the growing importance of Walmart’s omnichannel capabilities.
“It is imperative that we are good, regardless of how the customer wants to shop. What has changed in our industry over the last decade is simply that people have options; they can shop the way they want and their expectations have grown as well,” Laney said. “They expect different things from us than they did before. This past quarter, our shop volumes grew, our pick-up volumes grew faster than our shop volume and our delivery volumes grew faster than our pick-up volume. And this is the profile we want. This is the profile of success of an omnichannel retailer, which presents itself to customers regardless of how they want to shop. I am really excited about the underlying momentum of our business’.
Laney said he does not expect the omnichannel shopper momentum to diminish anytime soon.
“At the end of the day, when you look ahead in time, people will use the omnichannel experience more than they have in the past,” he explained. “And so when it comes to our supplier partnerships and other things we’re working on, it’s about accelerating and getting out of the way, letting it work as hard and as far as possible in a way that solves real customer problems. Right now we are in a really good situation in our food business, where customers see us not only as a solution to their financial difficulties, but also as a solution to their difficulties to make life happen. And when these come together, the trust factor increases and we can build long-term relationships with our customers that we are very proud of. There is a lot of momentum in the space. And we intend to maintain this momentum and harness it for the growth of the company’.
Grocery categories were particularly strong during Walmart’s third quarter, with unit volumes growing at the highest level in four years. For the 13-week period ended 25 October, Walmart also reported a 5.3% year-over-year increase in comp [comparable] sales. A large percentage of Walmart’s market share gains came from higher-income customers, which has been happening for several quarters. Households earning more than $100,000 accounted for 75 per cent of share gains [probably referring to revenues].
A wider demographic
Why is Walmart resonating with a broader segment of shoppers with different income levels?
“First, everyone wants to save money, even people with higher incomes want to save money and we want to be a solution for them in doing that,” Laney said. “Secondly, everyone appreciates convenience. So when you add those two things together, Walmart is a place where everyone can shop. It’s encouraging to see us resonate even more with some of those shoppers who may not have considered us in the past. They’re considering us at an increasing rate and I think it’s the balance of those two things.”
Walmart’s efforts to cater to a more diverse demographic also include the introduction of new private-label brands, such as the retailer ‘sBettergoods line that debuted in April, its largest private-label grocery launch in 20 years. Bettergoods aims to offer quality, trendy, chef-inspired food at affordable prices, with most items priced under $5.
“When we launched bettergoods, it was a really important strategy to get the attention of a group of people who may not have been considering us. And we will continue to be strategic about how we do that,” Laney said.
With over 330 items already introduced, the brand is designed to surprise and delight customers while addressing unmet needs.
“Bettergoods allows us to meet customers’ emerging expectations,” Laney explained. “It’s about showing them that they can eat healthier or try something new without spending a fortune.”
Walmart’s ability to anticipate and adapt to changing customer needs is evident in its approach to food assortment in general. “Having the products that people want is the foundation of everything we do,” Laney said. The company’s retail team plays a key role in this process. By analysing trends, collaborating with suppliers and exploring new opportunities, they ensure Walmart ‘s shelves are stocked with both familiar favourites and innovative options. This year has seen a surge in product innovation, particularly in food, after a slowdown during the pandemic. Walmart introduced new items to its assortment, keeping the shopping experience fresh and engaging.
“We’re at a point right now where we’re seeing more and more innovation, which is really exciting,” Laney said. “We always want to win with new products. We measure our market share of new products. We have targets that we have on new products. We want to win, win early and maintain an over-indexed market share of these products. And so we will continue to look for great new items. And we will be aggressive with the way we market them and how we show them to customers both in shop and online. Customers love to discover something new and our goal is to give them that excitement by solving real problems.
Walmart ‘s private brands are a cornerstone of its food strategy, providing value and innovation. And the company’s Great Value brand, long a staple in American households, remains central to Walmart‘s accessibility mission.
“Every time I visit a food pantry or community event, I see great value products and that makes me proud,” Laney shared. “The brand plays a key role in making quality accessible to all.”
Time to donate
Speaking of accessibility, Walmart is leveraging its reach not only to offer shoppers value and convenience, but also to give them a way to support those in need. Through its partnership with the Salvation Army, customers can easily donate the equivalent of a meal to families in their local communities.
“Our customers love to participate in goodwill, especially during the holidays,” Laney said. “We are proud to help them make a difference.”
This initiative is part of Walmart ‘s broader commitment to community support, in keeping with its mission to bring joy and hope to as many people as possible during the holiday season.
From the affordability of its holiday meal basket to the convenience of its omnichannel solutions and the variety offered by its national and private brands, Walmart is delivering on its promise to make life a little better for everyone.
“When price, assortment and convenience come together, that’s when the magic happens. We are proud to be a part of our customers’ lives, especially in the moments that matter most.”
The main premise ofWalmart’s current dominance in the grocery world is that it entered the food market long before Amazon – in the late 1980s – and believed in it much more.
From an operational point of view, its strengths are :
- Holiday meal deals at $5 and/or $7 per person [although I have concerns about families of 12]
- Convenience through promotions
- E-commerce (remember that Walmart brings groceries directly to the refrigerator for 45 million Americans)
- market study that has raised its demographic base compared to other discount chains: Walmart has managed to attract not only the middle class but also the upper end of the market, even with new private label products.
N.B.: Walmart “wins” against the rest of the market, not just Jeff Bezos’s behemoth.
