Halfway into 2017, there has already been a marked shift in how retailers are adjusting their strategies to meet new consumer expectations. Retail companies are trying to define their brand’s identity to differentiate themselves from the crowd. As we’ve seen from recent posts, new technologies are enabling retailers to create more immersive and memorable experiences for shoppers. Walmart Stores Inc. has identified the need to introduce new offerings to the public, as other stores, like Target make plans to execute in-store makeovers. With over 50 years of experience, Walmart has reached annual revenues of $485.9 billion, making it the largest retail corporation of discount department stores in the world. Regardless, Walmart doesn’t want to loosen its sights on gaining more repeat and loyal customers, as announced by a recent initiative.
Innovation Insight
According to an article in Bloomberg, Walmart is launching a technology incubator in California’s famous Silicon Valley.
Walmart Stores Inc. is creating a technology-startup incubator in Silicon Valley to identify changes that will reshape the retail experience, including virtual reality, autonomous vehicle and drone delivery and personalized shopping. The incubator will be called Store No. 8, a reference to a Walmart location where the company experimented with new store layouts. The incubator will partner with startups, venture capitalists and academics to promote innovation in robotics, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning and artificial intelligence, according to Walmart. The goal is to have a fast-moving, separate entity to identify emerging technologies that can be developed and used across Walmart.
Improving business efficiency and customer retention is key to surviving in the rapidly growing technology market. Each day, the market becomes more digitized and customer expectations reach new levels. Walmart’s decision to create Store No. 8 gives us the rich insight we need to understand how business decisions are truly customer-driven.The retail giant was recently reported as under-performing in the market. The company’s legacy has evidently lacked the efficiency and agility to allow instant reactions to customer needs, has made it difficult to deliver. In turn, Walmart has bounced back through this new project.
The retail giant refuses to fall behind competitors, as it seeks to oversee various independent projects under its umbrella. For over a decade, Dassault Systèmes has taken the same path to lead and assist the Consumer Goods & Retail industry with technology solutions. Parallel to Walmart’s incubator laboratory, Dassault Systèmes has also been involved with providing unique solutions while driving businesses to new levels of success and profitability. To get an idea of the scope of our 17,000 customers in the Consumer Goods and Retail industry, take a glance at our customer stories.
