Walmart (WMT) is hoping to boost online order times by trialing the use of dark stores in the U.S.
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Customer Orders
The retail giant wants to find out whether this option will help it meet demand from customers who are willing to pay a little bit extra for faster delivery of their orders.
Dark stores look like ordinary stores full of popular items but there are no signs, soothing music and no customers. They act as fulfillment centers for online orders enabling rapid picking, packing and shipping.
Walmart has opened a dark store in Dallas, Texas and another one, according to Bloomberg, is planned for Bentonville, Arkansas, where the company is based.
“We regularly test new tools, features, and capabilities to better connect with and serve our customers – wherever and however they choose to shop,” Walmart said. “Regardless of the channel, our goal remains the same: to deliver a fast, seamless, and engaging customer experience.”
Need for Speed
Walmart wants to test and see how much faster and cheaper it can do this in a dark store versus a retail store, utilizing new technology and picking strategies. If the tests are successful, they’ll be leveraged in the retail stores.
Speed is very much of the essence for Walmart in its battle with rivals such as Amazon (AMZN). That is what the modern customer wants.
Walmart and drone delivery company Wing, which is owned by Alphabet (GOOGL), recently set out plans to roll out drone delivery to over 100 of the retailer’s stores in five new cities. These are in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa.
Is WMT a Good Stock to Buy Now?
On TipRanks, WMT has a Strong Buy consensus based on 28 Buy and 1 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $120. WMT stock’s consensus price target is $110.07 implying a 13.94% upside.
