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Wal-Mart's eBusiness Strategy

Wal-Mart has grown from a little discount store to FORTUNEÆs most admired company, replacing Exxon Mobil on top of the Fortune 500 in 2002 (Useem, 2003). In 2003, Wal-Mart achieved over $240 billion in sales; in fact, on one day that year, its sales of $1.42 billion were larger than the GDPs of 36 countries (Useem, 2003). It is the biggest employer in 21 states ôwith more people in uniform than the U.S. Armyö (Useem, 2003). According to a survey by WSL Strategic Retail, "about 40 percent of women aged 18 to 70 shop at Wal-Mart once a week" (Drucker, 1999, p. 47). Over 100 major manufacturers that supply Wal-Martùincluding Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and the Gallo Wineryùhave set up offices near the Bentonville, Arkansas Wal-Mart headquarters in order to better service the mega-retailer (Gosman & Kelly, 41).

There are a number of reasons for Wal-MartÆs tremendous success, not the least of which is its use of the Internet.

Since Wal-Mart has been around for 41 years and predates online business, the Internet was not always part of the companyÆs strategy. However, Wal-Mart has eagerly embraced technological advances in marketing and supply chain technology and is now enjoying the benefits of doing business over the Internet. Because the InternetÆs effect on productivity is still in the early stages, the ultimate impact on Wal-MartÆs mega-billion sales has yet to be seen, but it is certain that the numbers will only go higher.

One of the advantages of shopping at Wal-Mart has always been their store hoursù24 hours a day, seven days a week; any time day or night, customers can go to Wal-Mart and shop. However, it is not always convenient to shop, even though the store is open. When the customer is tired, not feeling well, already dressed for bed, or just too busy to hop into the car and drive over there, shopping via the Internet fills the gap. Product and service ubiquity may be overlooked by many, but i...

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Wal-Mart's eBusiness Strategy. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:31, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1712672.html