What Happened
Walmart announced on Friday that it is investing $50 million in Chinese online grocery and delivery startup New Dada, a joint venture part-owned by JD.com, Walmart’s strategic ecommerce partner in China. The investment in New Dada, which operates in over 300 Chinese cities and serves 25 million customers, will help Wal-Mart target Chinese shoppers with faster delivery in a highly competitive online grocery market.
What Brands Should Do
Walmart has been leveraging digital tools to modernize its retail experience in order to better compete with its ecommerce rivals. The retail giant rolled out a mobile payment app in the U.S. this summer and partnered with Uber and Lyft for testing on-demand grocery service in Denver and Phoenix. This investment marks a significant step in Walmart’s ecommerce expansion in China so as to better compete with local competitors. Retailers should take a cue from the retail giant and start testing similar on-demand programs to meet the increasing consumer demand for convenience.
To learn more on what retailers can do to reach today’s connected shoppers across sales channels, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.
Source: Reuters
