Ecommerce in the Global Business Environment

Ecommerce in the global
business environment

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Contents
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................1
Walmart in E-commerce........................................................................................................................1
Key aspects of Walmart’s ecommerce strategy.....................................................................................1
Industry analysis....................................................................................................................................3
Industry Analysis...................................................................................................................................4
Porters five force...............................................................................................................................4
SWOT analysis..................................................................................................................................5
Issues related to ecommerce aspects of business...................................................................................7
Recommendation...................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES......................................................................................................................................8

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INTRODUCTION
In the time when digital mediums have to billions of hands, it has become essential for the
firms to take the routes of e-commerce. It is seen that companies such as Walmart which was
known for its Brick and Mortar kind of business has added online platforms through which
they are doing their business. Walmart Inc. is a multinational retail company from America
that has large numbers of supermarkets, grocery stores and discount department stores
(Walmart, 2019). Due to adoption of digital business, new market strategies, revenue models,
business models, value prepositions have to be applied so as to target their market segment.
This can be done by analysing the environment for business. This report will highlight the
case of Walmart while concentrating on the different aspects of their e-commerce business. It
also provides the industry analysis in terms of environment.
Walmart in E-commerce
This American based company is highly successful in the retail business. It is operating with
more than 11,348 stores which are operational in more than 27 nations under the 55 different
brand names. This company is world’s largest company in terms of revenue with more than
US$500 billion and it has more than 2.3 million employees. This company has come into the
e-commerce business in the year 2007 by launching its website Walmart.com (Matusitz and
Reyers, 2010). This was a site to store service that enabled consumers to do purchase by
online mediums and picking up merchandises in stores. In very few years of time, this
company has been able to make huge amounts of profits from its business. With the help of
business processes such as Walmart Pay and addition of online retailers such as Jet.com, this
company’s online market has boosted up incredibly. With so many online acquisitions in
different parts Walmart is now able to sale high amount of their products through this
medium at the worldwide level. Best example in this regards is purchase of Flipkart which
has made it an valuable player in the Indian market.
Key aspects of Walmart’s ecommerce strategy
In ecommerce business, there are different kinds of strategies and approaches being used by
the company. Some of the features of Walmart’s e-commerce are:

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Strategy/ Approach: Walmart is committed towards providing the best experience to its
customers. For this, they have adopted different set of strategies. This company is acquiring
digital brands that are resonating with the shoppers of younger age. For reaching to new
customers in new destinations, this company has hired local retailer companies. Some of the
famous digital brand that has been acquired by Flipkart is Jet, Shoebuy, Bonobos, Bare
Necessities, Moosejaw, Eloquii etc. As a part of their ecommerce strategy, this company has
reinvented its apparel offering. Celebrity Brands & Private Labels is another strategy used by
them where they have did partnership with celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Elizabeth
Stewart (Chuang, et al. 2011). They have improved their supply chain management so that
products are available in the near most warehouses. This has become essential for improving
the speed with which they deliver their products.
Value propositions: Walmart’s value proposition is defined through its innovative thinking.
They have a commitment to save the money of their consumers; they have planned their
services in such as a manner that they have become leader in the way they do their business.
Their ecommerce value is being supported by supply chain management where they ensure
timely delivery of the products. With the advancement in the online technologies, this value
proposition has gone to higher levels (Stankevičiūtė, Grunda and Bartkus, 2012).
Revenue model: Currently this company is generating 3% of its total revenue from their e-
commerce platform. There primary source of sales is their brick and mortar business but in
the years to come, this value is going to increase considerably. Most of their sales are done by
their website Walmart.com while sales are also made through Apps and third party sites such
as Jet.com, Flipkart and many other sites that they have acquired (Rogers and Makonnen,
2014).
Target markets: Target market of this company is very huge. They sell all the type of
commodities for every segment in the society. Since they offer products at relatively lower
prices hence they can target people from all the classes of the society from any occupation.
They have targeted people between the age group of 14-65 years as they are doing different
types of purchase. People who seek cost advantage or are cost conscious are highly targeted
by the company (Bonanno and Goetz, 2012).
Business model: Walmart’s business model is highly advanced. They have large numbers of
customer segments and they have their segments on the basis of different kinds of variables.
Multiple demographics are their segments. Value proposition is provided by its competitive