What is it: A perspective on the battle between Amazon and Walmart.

Why it is important: Each one is moving towards omnichannel as fast and efficiently as possible. One from online, the other from stores.

According to an article in The Economist, and indeed, the many reports posted by IADS online, Walmart has fared well recently. Thanks to its size and reach, it has chartered ships in order to cope with recent supply chain problems and added 200 000 jobs to its 2.3 million workers in the last few months in spite of labour shortages. However, analysts are showing scepticism. They still prefer Amazon, of course, but also Target and Home Depot. Are analysts missing a turnaround story or is Amazon really a threat to Walmart?

The Walmart turnaround consists of two main elements:

• Its stores which hoppers are beginning to return to, and its efforts online with the Walmart+ subscription service. It is introducing new brands as well as improving delivery through its Spark network.
• It is also addressing the lower profits problem of online by attracting third-party merchants, adding an advertising business and developing fintech.

The question is whether these measures will be enough to save it from Amazon when Amazon is growing its distribution centre network at an incredible rate. It is already larger than Walmart’s and is due to double with another 140 million sq ft. The idea is to shrink delivery times so much that customers will have no incentive to go to stores. Walmart’s defence for the moment is that half its sales are from groceries which are mostly bought in stores, while Amazon’s Wholefood and Fresh supermarkets have been a disappointment so far.

Walmart bites back