The country’s largest and undisputed retailer is learning the technology business to start its dot-com division. Walmart is now under such a threat from Amazon that it is now trying to catch-up by launching WalmartLabs, Walmart’s Global E-Commerce services.
The two retail biggies, one the king of the physical store and the other the conqueror of the online world, are battling over e-commerce — competing for the most talented engineers, trying to gain the upper hand in the new frontier of same-day delivery and warring over online pricing.
They want to control not just Internet shopping but all sorts of shopping. Even as Walmart invests money into technology, Amazon is building a physical presence across the nation, adding warehouses and pickup locations. Amazon wants to solidify not only its logistics services but every aspect of its e-commerce business. Both companies’ strategies indicate that they believe the future of commerce is not just stand alone stores and not just online retailing, but a perfect blend of both formats.
For the first time in decades, Walmart, which drove many companies out of business, has a competitor it should be weary of.
“Don’t think for a second that Jeff Bezos is not a capitalist,” Neil M. Ashe, Chief Executive of Walmart Global E-Commerce, said of the belief of Mr. Bezos, founder and chief executive of Amazon, in low prices and paper-thin margins. “They’re just playing a game, which is, ‘We’re just going to wait out the world.’ ”
Although the rigorous competition between Walmart and Amazon is taking place in all areas of business, to get the technological edge, Walmart has to succeed in San Bruno which is Walmart Global E-Commerce’s headquarters.
