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January 10, 2000

Wal-Mart Steps Up Online Presence
Expanded Web store features more products and new personalization service

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nternet companies such as Amazon. com Inc. and eToys Inc. are getting new competition from an old name in retailing. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has launched a new and expanded online store that features more products and new services.

The site, launched Jan. 1, expands the number of products the company offers online sixfold to 600,000 in 24 categories--including appliances, toys, apparel, and electronics.

The number of online shoppers is expected to grow to nearly 40 million this year, up from 10 million in 1998, according to Jupiter Communications. With these new online shoppers, familiar brands in the physical world have an edge, says David Schatsky, director of commerce-infrastructure strategies at Jupiter.

Other features offered on the site include a personalization service called My Wal-Mart that tracks customer purchase histories and an automated gift and toy finder. Travel services that have already been offered at some Wal-Mart locations will now be offered on the Web.

Wal-Mart worked with system integrator Cambridge Technology Partners Inc. beginning last April to design and develop the site. One of the biggest challenges was linking it to the retailer's legacy ordering and fulfillment systems. Changes also had to be made in the way Wal-Mart fulfills orders and ships products.

"When we first started talking to them, they couldn't ship less than a truckload of merchandise," says John Mollick, director of interactive solutions for Cambridge. Now the company contracts out to third-party vendors such as Books-A-Million Inc., which owns the inventory and can fulfill orders for Wal-Mart.

While the retailer missed out on the big online holiday-shopping season, analysts say Wal-Mart made the right decision. "They decided to delay launching their site last year to make sure they had a high-quality site," Schatsky says, "and it was wise for them to do that."

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