As the world’s biggest retailer discovers smartphones are a top traffic driver, it has changed directions.
The Walmart mobile shopping app is rolling out in Canada where smartphone users are a prime driver of traffic. The retailer’s new application provides shoppers with a spectrum of different features including a favorites list.
The beta tests were critical to the development of this app, which started off quite complicated.
According to Walmart Canada executive vice president of technology and ecommerce, Rick Neuman, the application was greatly simplified. At first it was overly complicated, but Neuman said the experience has been sculpted into something much more appealing. To him, the favorites list was his preferred feature on the Walmart mobile shopping app.
“The other day I made a favourites list, handed it to my wife and she was able to get a $120 basket together in four minutes for a great camping weekend with my girls,” he stated.
The Walmart mobile shopping app was created through a Razorfish Canada collaboration.
This mobile commerce app was developed specifically for the Canadian market. It was based on a survey conducted across that country. The survey sought to determine what people wanted most from Walmart. This was followed by beta testing by customers the retailer hand-picked for the purpose. Later, the retailer’s employee base were able to take part in testing the final version.
The release of this m-commerce application is a direct reflection of the growing importance of the role of mobile in Walmart shopping. June 2016 represented the first time more traffic came from smartphones and tablets than from desktops and laptops.
“That’s a huge shift for us,” said Neuman. He pointed out that the company is seeing “massive potential.”
Walmart currently boasts more than 400 store locations across the nation. This is especially significant as the Canadian marketplace has always been a challenging one for department store retailers. The majority of sales still occur at bricks-and-mortar stores. However, the company has acknowledged that offering digital solutions is an integral component of doing business in the current ecosystem. The launch of the Walmart mobile shopping app is a major move for the company within that environment.
The electronics and tech giant is introducing its branded app just in time for athletes and spectators.
Samsung Electronics Co. has announced that it is launching its mobile payments app, Samsung Pay, in Brazil. Certainly, the fact that the Olympic Games are headed to the country played a vital role in this decision. Should the launch be successful, it may open the door to more countries throughout Latin America.
Mobile phones are a primary access point for the internet in Latin America, making this strategy promising.
The mobile app, Samsung Pay, first saw its world debut in South Korea. That occurred nearly a year ago in August 2015. It has since become available to more countries. It has been in the United States since September 2015. Now, Samsung will be sending the mobile payments service to smartphone users attending – and participating in – the Olympic Games. This, according to the vice president of the unit, Haley Kim.
Samsung Pay will be up against some stiff competition as Apple and Google also make a grab for that market.
The largest company in South Korea will be pitting its mobile payments service against Google Pay and Apple Pay. This is no small market opportunity. Forrester Research Inc. predicts that by 2019, it will have broken the $142 billion mark. Those three companies have been rivals in every major marketplace. They are seeking to draw customers to their apps not just to encourage them to use the mobile applications themselves, but also their devices.
In Brazil, Samsung already has a 42 percent share, said Gartner Inc.. That is sizeable when taking into account that there are more active mobile phone accounts than people in the country. The company is aiming to use its mobile payments service to bring in an even larger number of new users. That said, it could be a challenging effort considering the current state of the Brazilian economy. It is currently suffering the deepest depression it has faced for at least one hundred years.
Kim explained that “The demographic group buying and using these devices in Brazil is more the high-end or premium customers who may not be significantly impacted by this economic crisis.” Samsung Pay may have a bit of an advantage as the company is a corporate sponsor of the games. It is also selling a limited edition Galaxy Edge S7 featuring the Olympic rings and colors. The mobile payments app will also be compatible with users of other S7 devices, in addition to the A5 and A7 models and others.
