The drivers behind the intense remodeling and investment in stores are an outcome of not investing in the customer experience and leaning too heavily on price as the 1st priority. It can be hard to visualize Amazon and other DTC players as real threats, as they have no physical locations and NWA is such a prosperous area. However, all the signs are there. Amazon is growing over 20% annually, and the customer is shifting to ecommerce and has been doing so for some time.
WMT has the cash flow to fund the ecommerce, logistics, and IT investments. It may require some reduction in share repurchases to get there, however, given the fact that WMT paid cash for the Jet.com acquisition, I believe the company is on solid footing. At the end of the day, this comes down to the quality of management. Can the company innovate and execute fast enough to reposition the company to deliver a sustainable competitive advantage? I believe the foundation and recognition is there. That "spark" just needs to shine through.
This is what is confusing me, @OOitQkl-4bkg. We need better eCommerce presence, but instead of doing something about it, people keep crying about Amazon. Walmart being able to give customers an option between brick-and-mortar and (proper, not what we have now) eCommerce could ensure our survival. After all, even Amazon sees the need for brick-and-mortar stores, and has been opening them more and more. There will always be people who prefer to see their goods up close and personal before buying.