Product Management Hypermarkets And Departmental Stores

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Introduction
Walmart is an American Multinational business organization which operates a chain of
hypermarkets and departmental stores all across the world. The business organization was
founded in the year 1962. The company has stores and departmental stores in more than 27
countries. It is considered to be the world largest company by revenue. The purpose of this report
is to analyze the products and services offered by Walmart. It analyzes the technology used by
the organization to develop and improve their product offerings. It identifies the competitive
forces faced by the organization (Walmart.com | Save Money. Live Better. 2020). It determines
the market segmentation of the business organization and determines the events or trends faced
which impact the success of the business organization. Lastly, it provides time analysis and
concludes the report.
Analysis and discussion
Product and services offered by the business organization
Walmart offers wide range of products and services to customers. The US segment of
Walmart offers grocery products including meat, bakery, dairy, health, bakery items, pet
supplies, household supplies, condiments, spices and beauty aids, frozen foods and other supplies
to the customers (Daniel, Neves & Horta, 2017). The international segment has different formats
of restaurants and retail stores including departmental stores, Sam’s clubs, hypermarkets ad other
merchandise stores. Some of the stores of Walmart offer specialty shops providing products like
Tire & Lube Express, Portrait studio, Pharmacy and others.

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Technology used by Walmart
Walmart has been increasing its technological innovations in its brick and mortar stores.
The technology implementation in the business organization is being implemented to better
compete with the strong competitors like Amazon (Ellickson, 2016). Several technologies are
being used to provide better service to the customers and grab their online orders through floor
scrubbing robots. Walmart has used “Auto C” floor cleaner to clean and polish the floor area.
The assisted autonomy technology is being used to clear the floors of the brick and mortar stores
(Hwang & Park, 2016). There are Auto-S shelf scanners and robotics to check the inventory
levels and detect misplaced items or labeling on the product. Furthermore, the company has been
implementing FAST Unloaders which unloads a truck of merchandize along with conveyor belt.
Walmart has been innovating with latest technology and use of robots and other forms of
automation to improve service offerings of the business organization (Laudon & Traver, 2016).
The product manager need to have knowledge about the technology and the ways in which it can
positively influence service offerings of the business organizations and improve the current
service offerings of the business organizations.
Competitive analysis of Walmart
Walmart faces direct competition with Amazon and Alibaba. Amazon is one of the
biggest competitors of Walmart. The company has grown into a most valuable and powerful
corporations in the today’s world (Massengill, 2013). The company strategically integrate
technology with retail and makes technological shift in the organization. Alibaba is one of the e-
commerce giant which offers wide range of products and services to the customers similar to the
offerings of Walmart. The company implements New Five strategy and other areas of strategic
importance which enables the business organization to provide customized services to the

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customers on a global level (Negi & Anand, 2014). The company integrates online and offline
experiences across a single value chain. The company plans to revolutionize the retail industry
through its innovative services. Walmart also faces stiff competition from Tesco, Costco,
Walgreens, and Home Deport. There is intense rivalry among the existing competitors in the
market. There are aggressive price cuts among the competitors which might reduce the
profitability of Walmart (Piotrowicz & Cuthbertson, 2014). The threat of substitute products is
high in the market. The available substitutes might impact the profitability of the business
organization.
Overview of market serviced by Walmart
The company targets both Domestic and international market. The company targets all
age groups people both males and females. It targets the low and middle income group
consumers. The pricing strategy of the business is targeted to ensure that its products and
services are affordable to all its targeted consumers (Renko & Druzijanic, 2014). The company
attempts to target customers through its marketing communication messages. Walmart pays
considerable amount of attention to the young consumers for long term perspectives. Further, the
company attracts millennials through its attractive marketing strategies and marketing
communications (Schuetz, 2015). The marketers might consider factors such as customer
behavior, their needs, and particular preferences. The demographic data’s such as the location,
gender, and age is taken into consideration for target market segmentation. Machine learning and
automation is being used at a constant rate to improve data analysis (Shabbir, 2015). The target
market segmentation might have better understanding of the customers at an individual level.
Effective segmentation also involves analyzing the behavior of the customers. Customer
analysis, involves the data regarding their actions, needs and requirements. By understanding

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their specific needs and preferences, the company will be able to provide personalized services to
improve the level of customer satisfaction in the business organization (Schuetz, 2015).
Event or trend that might impact product offerings
It is believed that customer satisfaction is number one goal for the retailers. However,
with the evolution and advantage of technology that is the internet, mobile, and analytics, the
expectation of the consumers have increased. The traditional form of price and service is being
altered by technology (Piotrowicz & Cuthbertson, 2014). The customers expect premium and
quick services to save their time and gain positive experience at a lower price. The increase in
the expectation of the consumers with the evolution of technology is an event which might
impact the product offerings of the company. This is also an opportunity for Walmart to provide
products and services catering to the needs and demands of the consumers. There is an increasing
trend of quality consciousness among the consumers (Negi & Anand, 2014). The consumers
prefer healthy food products and organically sourced products. There are changes in consumer
trends and preferences of the consumers. This can be both a threat and opportunity to the
business organization. The company needs to consider the preferences and buying behavior of
the consumers and provide products and services catering to their needs and preferences. The
technological developments and the shifts in the changes of consumer behavior and preferences
are some of the trends that might impact its products and service offerings (Massengill, 2013).
However, the business organization can undertake these trends as opportunities to better improve
their product and service offerings to the customers. Hence this can contribute to the success of
the business organization.
Determination of whether the organization requires technology driven approach

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A tech-centric Approach is one of the most important strategies of Walmart. The business
organization has been taking initiatives to become a tech centric company rather than being a
traditional retailer. The business organization has shifted their focus and strategies to implement
latest technology and adhere to the market needs and requirements (Negi & Anand, 2014). The
new aim of Walmart is to transform itself into an innovating business organization and develop
new capabilities to better serve the customers. Innovation and opportunity are biggest concern of
the business organization. However, the company has been facing various cost litigations. The
strong patent portfolio of the business organization helps the organization to avoid litigations
(Massengill, 2013). Amazon has been one of the toughest competitors of Walmart in the present
scenario. They have been competition with the business organization in all the aspects of the
business (Negi & Anand, 2014). Therefore, Walmart has taken steps and tech-centric approach to
compete with other competitors in the markets and address the market needs by innovations.
TIME analysis
TIME ANALYSIS DESCRIPTION
Technology Design technology – Bid data is being used in
the Brick and Mortar stores. RFID tags, video
cameras, and guest wi-fi are used in the stores
to enhance customer experience (Negi &
Anand, 2014).
Process technology – POS system is used to
replace traditional sales counters, Virtual

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reality, touch screens and projected media is
used.
Industry Existing competition – Walmart faces direct
competition with Amazon and Alibaba.
New competition: There are new competitors
in the market with innovative marketing and
strategies (Massengill, 2013). This might
reduce the profitability of the business.
Market The customer preferences and habits are
changing at a rapid rate. They prefer cost
efficient services and high quality products.
They are increasingly health conscious.
Events The government is implementing new policies
to protect the environment from being harmed
(Massengill, 2013). They undertake policies to
reduce carbon imprint.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be concluded that Walmart offers wide range
of grocery products and other supplies to the customers. The report provides details about the
products and services offered by the business organization. It has been identified that Walmart
has been implementing latest technologies and innovations in order to attain sustainability and

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compete with the other competitors in the market. Walmart has implemented robotics and big
data and improve its service offerings to the customers. Further, the report has analysis the
competitive situations prevailing in the industry. It has been identified that Walmart faces direct
competition with Alibaba and Amazon. The report has analyzed the market in which Walmart
provide its services. Further, the report identifies the events or trends that might impact the
products and services offered b the business organization. It has been identified that Walmart
requires technology driven approach in order to compete with other competitors in the business
organizations. The report has analyzed TIME (technology, Industry, Market and Events).

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References
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Ellickson, P. B. (2016). The evolution of the supermarket industry: from A & P to Walmart.
In Handbook on the Economics of Retailing and Distribution. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Hwang, M., & Park, S. (2016). The impact of walmart supercenter conversion on consumer
shopping behavior. Management Science, 62(3), 817-828.
Laudon, K. C., & Traver, C. G. (2016). E-commerce: business, technology, society.
Massengill, R. P. (2013). Wal-Mart wars: Moral populism in the twenty-first century. NYU
Press.
Negi, S., & Anand, N. (2014). Green and sustainable supply chain management practices-a study
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Piotrowicz, W., & Cuthbertson, R. (2014). Introduction to the special issue information
technology in retail: Toward omnichannel retailing. International Journal of Electronic
Commerce, 18(4), 5-16.
Renko, S., & Druzijanic, M. (2014). Perceived usefulness of innovative technology in retailing:
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services, 21(5), 836-843.
Schuetz, J. (2015). Why are Walmart and Target next-door neighbors?. Regional Science and
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Shabbir, M. S. (2015). Why Manufacturers are Less Powerful than Retailers in Trade Circles? A
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Walmart.com | Save Money. Live Better. (2020). Retrieved 19 February 2020, from
https://www.walmart.com/