Opportunities for Walmart and Walmart Plus
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Opportunities for Walmart and Walmart Plus
Walmart is the globe’s largest retail company that sells everything ranging from groceries, electronics, books, and music instruments. It is estimated that about 270 million clients make their purchases at the store every week while others make purchases through the firm’s website. Recently, the corporation launched a new membership service known as Walmart plus with services offered including same-day delivery of purchases for the firm’s over 160,000 products, scan and Go feature, which enables customers to pay for a purchased item using Walmart mobile application, and a five-cent discount on Murphy gas stations and fuel at the retail store (Bandoim, 2020). While Walmart’s launch plus is believed to offer competition to Amazon Prime, there are distinct opportunities for Walmart and Walmart plus. The essay offers an analysis of Walmart and Walmart’s available opportunities plus by making full marketing mix recommendations about the launch of Walmart plus in Canada.
Launching Walmart plus service in Canada provides the store with the opportunity to increase its grocery sales and remain ahead of Amazon, its main competitor (Osborne, 2020). While Walmart does not seem to be interested in competing with Amazon’s Amazon prime, by the look of things, launching the provision of service like same-day delivery, the use of scan and go feature, and a discount in the purchase of fuel will ensure that the company does not only increase its grocery sales but also the sale of other products like electronics. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon’s grocery sales exceeded that of Amazon, and through the services that the company intends to introduce, it will be able to cement its position in the sale of groceries. With the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting people’s movement, by launching the service in Canada, sales of Walmart store products will increase since consumers will be purchasing items from the store’s website and request them to be delivered to their homes. Therefore, it is the right time for the company to launch the service after it had previously closed down most stores in the country.
Services offered by Walmart plus allow the company to attract new clients while retaining the existing ones. The services include same-day delivery, scan and go feature, and a discount in the purchase of fuel from the firm’s stores (Bandoim, 2020). Through the service, consumers will choose between Walmart plus and Amazon prime because it is perceived that they are all in the same industry, offering the same services (Jindal et al., 2020). The subscription cost will be the determinant for clients to choose from based on the services that they intend to get. For one to be a member of Walmart plus, the subscription fee is $98 annually and $12.95 monthly, and it includes a free 15-day trial period. The subscription fee is $20 cheaper when compared to that of Amazon Prime. Besides, Walmart plus will also provide unlimited free delivery, a free service for the member who had subscribed to Delivery Unlimited services. For that reason, any person who had subscribed to Delivery Unlimited services will automatically become a member of Walmart plus.
Launching Walmart plus in Canada provides Walmart store with an opportunity to create a strategic alliance or partnership with major companies. Since Walmart will mostly be dealing with the delivery of products, this is the best chance for the company to partner with well-established firms in the country and deliver products that they are selling to their target consumers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most purchases are made online because of the one-meter rule put in place by the World Health Organization (Unglesbee, 2020). Besides, Walmart can also promote strategic alliances to win the country by acquiring small firms that sell groceries. On the other hand, by launching Walmart plus in Canada, it provides the firm with an opportunity to enhance its human resource practices (Dutta et al., 2020). Getting advanced improvement in the company’s human resource practices is essential because it will provide a favorable working environment for its workers, thereby enabling the company to achieve its goals (Neebe, 2020). Walmart stores tend to rely on their workforce to bring innovation and offer highly skilled experts to provide services required by their clients. With Canada being one of the best countries that possess a highly skilled workforce, the firm has the opportunity to harness their talent and put it into good use. Finally, launching the service in Canada provides the best opportunity for Walmart stores to improve the quality of services and products it offers to its consumers. The company can partner with the best production firms in the country to ensure that the quality of products it produces meets the client’s needs. For that reason, through Walmart plus launch in Canada, it is the right time for the corporation to determine the kind of products available in its stores. Therefore, based on Canada’s available opportunities, I will recommend Walmart stores to launch Walmart plus in the country.
References
Bandoim, L. (2020, November 1). Can Walmart’s New Membership Service Compete with Amazon Prime? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2020/09/01/can-walmarts-new-membership-service-compete-with-amazon-prime/#72b8f6f468ff
Dutta, P., Choi, T. M., Somani, S., & Butala, R. (2020). Blockchain technology in supply chain operations: Applications, challenges, and research opportunities. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 142, 102067.
Jindal, R. P., Gauri, D. K., Li, W., & Ma, Y. (2020). The omnichannel battle between Amazon and Walmart: Is the focus on delivering the best strategy?. Journal of Business Research, 122, 270-280.
Neebe, K. (2020). Sustainability at Walmart: Success over the Long Haul. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 32(2), 64-71.
Osborne, J., & Villas-Boaz, A. (2020, November 15). Walmart Plus, Walmart’s Amazon Prime competitor, is available now for $98 a year – here’s what the subscription delivers. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-plus-price?IR=T
Unglesbee, B. (2020, September 1). Walmart to launch its Walmart+ membership service. Marketing dive. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/walmart-to-launch-its-walmart-membership-service/584497/?MessageRunDetailID=3266003428&PostID=19056347&utm_medium=email&utm_source=rasa_io.