Walmart Offers "Pay with Cash" Online

Walmart has announced the launch of its "Pay with Cash" offering for online orders at Walmart.com in the United States. Now, customers can shop a broader selection of items online at Walmart.com and pay for them with cash at all Walmart stores in the U.S. and also in Neighborhood Markets. Walmart is the first major retailer to offer online purchases without the need for banking services or a credit, debit or prepaid card. "Pay with Cash" will help millions who rely on cash transactions, as well as those who are wary of using credit cards online, to shop Walmart's affordable and expanded online merchandise.


According to the FDIC, one in four U.S. households fall into the unbanked and underbanked categories where they don't have a bank account or credit card or have limited banking options, and often rely on cash as a form of payment for purchases.(1) However, many of them are online, with 81 percent of the unbanked and 63 percent of the underbanked having Internet access.(2)


At Walmart stores, the majority of transactions are paid for in cash or cash equivalent, including debit cards, and approximately 15 percent of transactions are paid in the form of credit. The retailer is seeing more demand for cash as a payment option online, and the new "Pay with Cash" program provides that additional convenience. In a recent survey, Walmart found that more than two thirds of those identified as "underbanked" were likely to use cash as a form of online payment if the option were available. Using "Pay with Cash," customers purchase items at Walmart.com, pay for them in stores within a 48-hour period, and then have the items shipped to their home or local Walmart store.


"Many of our customers shop paycheck to paycheck and are looking for more ways to purchase items online but don't have the means to a credit, debit or prepaid card," said Joel Anderson, president and CEO of Walmart.com. "Our new 'Pay with Cash' offering is designed just for them. It makes it easier for our customers to shop the way they want, where they have access to a broader product selection at Walmart.com coupled with the convenience of payment and shipping as they want."


Source: Marketwatch.com

Wal-Mart, Target Label Turn to Brands To Battle Online Retailers

Wal-Mart, Target and Costco have so far felt less pain from Internet competition than many brick-and-mortar retailers. One reason is that middle- and lower-income groups that shop at discount retailers buy fresh and packaged food products that aren't sold online — yet.
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Wal-Mart (WMT), Target (TGT) Turn To Private Label Brands To Battle Online Retailers - Investors.com:

US: Walmart express takes aim at Dollar stores

US: Walmart express takes aim at Dollar stores

Wal-Mart Stores opened its first Walmart Express, its answer to the growing threat of dollar stores. The 15,000-square-foot store, one-tenth the size of a Walmart superstore, aims to carry everything consumers might need on the spur of the moment, from milk and eggs to DVDs.

Walmart Express is sized to fit into cities where space is at a premium and in rural areas that can't support a superstore, according to a report by the Associated Press. The first store, opened in rural Gentry, Ark., is about a half-mile away from a Dollar General location.

Dollar stores have enjoyed strong revenue growth as they've lured more shoppers with bargain prices and wider selections. Meanwhile, U.S. Walmart stores open at least a year have posted declines in revenue for eight straight quarters, the AP report noted.

Dollar-store chains also have quickly expanded, opening stores closer to customers' homes, an advantage in this era of high gas prices. The average round trip to a dollar store is six miles, vs. 30 miles for a typical Walmart trip, Credit Suisse analyst Michael Exstein estimated.

The new Gentry store is one of 20 small stores Wal-Mart expects to open by the end of January. A second Walmart Express test store will open this Wednesday about 30 miles away in Prairie Grove, Ark., and another will launch in Ridgefield, N.C., a week later. The company also is experimenting with a prototype for urban markets in Chicago, to open this summer.

"This is about access to breadth of assortment" and everyday low prices, said Anthony Hucker, vice president of Wal-Mart's strategy and business-development division.

Hucker emphasized that the company is still testing out the small-store format. Most Walmart Express locations will have a pharmacy. Some, like the store in Prairie Grove, will sell gasoline. All stores will offer check-cashing services and accept food stamps.

For ease of shopping, some related general merchandise is featured alongside groceries. For example, tea kettles and toasters are in the bread and tea and coffee aisle. Shoppers can find prepaid phones and greeting cards as well, the AP report noted

Wal-Mart is looking to customers to tell the retailer what these small stores should carry. Signs throughout the store read, "If you want it, we'll get it."

Source: csnews.com