Walmart is developing new ways of applying technology to customer shopping experiences, including new voice commerce capabilities and making it easier for shoppers to determine how the furniture it offers might fit in their homes.
In a blog post by Jon Alferness, chief product officer, Walmart U.S., Srini Venkatesan, executive vice president, Walmart U.S. Omni Platforms and Tech, Dominique Essig, vice president, conversational commerce and replenishment, and Thomas Kang, vice president and general manager, metaverse commerce, Store No. 8, the company declared it hasn’t given up on conversational commerce despite its pulling the plug on JetBlack, the concierge-aided text-based shopping service it tested in New York until shutting it down in 2020.
After it clipped the wings on JetBlack, Walmart introduced Text to Shop last year and is testing a voice experience in the Walmart mobile app that allows customers to shop hands-free. Further, Walmart is testing capabilities that include enabling customers to shop using voice commands, engaging in back-and-forth conversations with an assistant, and booking pickup and delivery time slots.
For some time, Walmart has been developing augmented reality tools that give consumers a better sense of what apparel and home merchandise will suit them. The authors maintained customers who use the tools buy more and are more satisfied with their purchases. Walmart is working toward upgrading those tools by combining the power of GenAI and AR to provide more design help. Although in an early development stage, the tool allows customers to share their budgets, themes and any other preferences with it to receive personalized assistance, powered by GenAI, in designing a room.
Further, the blog authors noted that American families spend six hours per week on household planning and shopping. Although families routinely shop online for household items, the planning and shopping process continues to be tedious and full of last-minute surprises.
Walmart thinks it can help with the application of generative AI. The company is experimenting with various GenAI-powered capabilities with the potential to elevate its relationship with customers. The goal is to transform Walmart from a shopping destination to a partner in accomplishing a wider range of consumer activities.
Walmart is using the latest technology to enhance the company’s search engine to better understand context and allows customers to search by specific use cases, generating more relevant results and saving them time. Because the search engine can accommodate shopping themes, customers can, for example, search for unicorn-themed toddler birthday parties and get cross-category results instead of conducting multiple separate searches for plates, streamers, party favors and other celebratory needs.
GenAI also wants to help customers with complex purchases, such as selecting an age-appropriate cell phone that’s compatible with a given wireless provider. In addition, Walmart is exploring how GenAI can aid in decision-making by creating tools that highlight priority product features and condense reviews into concise summaries to help shoppers make informed buying decisions and potentially save time.
The metaverse is another virtual pathway Walmart wants to take in developing new approaches to e-commerce. The company is experimenting with ways to offer consumers physical items contextually and natively within a virtual environment. The company recently launched a game called House Flip with a purchasing capability included within. The authors noted that Walmart is actively looking for more ways to connect virtual commerce to its stores and vice versa.
