Walmart Canada Announces a $3.5 Billion Investment for Customer Experience Transformation

Walmart Canada has announced that it is making a $3.5 billion investment over the next five years. This investment will look to generate growth as well as make the online and in-store shopping experience easier for customers. According to the press release, it will affect each aspect of the business. It will lead to a faster e-commerce website, two new distribution centers that will speed up the product flow, reinvented stores, an enhanced Omni-experience, and modern digital tools so associates can better serve its customers.
 
“Millions of customers choose to shop with us in-store and online every day – and that’s a tremendous honor,” said Horacio Barbeito, President and CEO, Walmart Canada, in a Walmart press release. “Today’s significant investment will position us for future growth and make Walmart Canada even better for our associates and our customers. We are doubling down on our focus on the customer experience – not just to keep up but to lead and to be the very best in Canada.”
 
The news release, which shows the full investment information, can be read here, highlights four specific aspects this investment will bring, which includes:
 

  • Reinvented and modernized “stores of the future”
    • Renovating over 150 stores over the next three years, which is a third of the store network
    • Accelerated digitalization which means expanded electronic store shelves, robotics and computer cameras to simplify and minimize touch and new checkout experience to reduce touchpoints which includes tap-to-pay, bigger self-checkout and “Check Out With Me” mobile payment technology which lets employees checkout customers from anywhere in the store
  • Accelerating the Omni-offering for customers as well as creating thousands of new Omni-associate jobs
    • Expanding the Walmart Pickup offerings to about 270 stores, about 70 percent of stores, by the end of 2020
    • Improve fulfillment center operations to better the speed and flow
  • Investing $1.1 billion to build two new distribution centers and renovating an existing distribution center
    • The two new centers will be in Vaughan, Ontario, and Surrey, British Columbia, and will be 550,000 and 300,000 square feet, respectively.
    • The renovated center is the one found in Cornwall, Ontario.
  • Raising capacity in its distribution center system
    • A new warehouse management system which is omni-capable in meeting future physical store and e-commerce needs
 
“We need to do everything we can to delight our customer every single time they choose to shop with us, whether it’s online or in the store. We’re challenging ourselves to be better and be relentlessly focused on excellent omni customer service and experience,” said Sam Wankowski, Chief Operations Officer, Walmart Canada, in the same Walmart news release. “This means better stores, quicker service, and doing what Walmart does best – focusing on customers, always at Walmart’s everyday low prices.”
 
More from Loyalty360 on Customer Experience Transformation:
  • Kroger and Ocado recently expanded their partnership, and will similarly to Walmart, open additional Customer Fulfillment Centers.
 
 

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