Walmart expands in China with high-tech, small-format supermarket

Walmart has opened its first small, high-tech supermarket in Shenzen, China which allows customers to pay for goods using their smartphones.

Customers purchasing goods from the store that are available on the Walmart page of e-commerce site JD Daojia, an affiliate of JD.com, can pay using their smartphones via Tencent Holding Ltd’s WeChat messaging service.

The outlet will stock more than 8,000 items ranging from stir-fried clams to fresh fruit, 90 percent of which will be available online, it said in a statement. Items can be delivered within a 2 kilometer (1.2 mile) radius as quickly as 29 minutes, said Walmart, which owns a stake in JD.com.

The shop stocks around 8,000 product lines, 90% of which can be bought online and subsequently paid for using a smartphone.  Stock includes typical, regional grocery items from fresh fruit to clams, and online purchases can be delivered within a 2km radius in 29 minutes.

Alibaba and Tencent dominate the region's e-commerce market and are putting technology in place to blend online and offline shopping.  Walmart is keen to expand into China, where consumers are increasingly making purchases using mobile devices.  

Pictured: Standard Walmart China store

Source : Insight DIY Team

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