Walmart’s rise in e-commerce: Is retail going extinct?
Former Toys 'R' Us CEO Gerald Storch on Walmart's subscription launch and the future of retail.
Walmart’s launch of its new, same-day grocery-delivery service sparked large interest in how this move will affect the future of in-person retail.
E-commerce sales jumped 37 percent in Walmart's fiscal second quarter, while same-store sales rose 2.8 percent during the same period.
Walmart and Amazon seem to have targeted the ever-developing online market in a head-to-head battle.
“Amazon's got a huge lead [in the market]," former Toys R Us CEO Gerald Storch on FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.” "They’re 10 times the size of Walmart.com for home delivery of everyday items."
"But in grocery, Walmart is the No. 1 grocer in the country and the world."
"They are huge in the grocery space, and they're not going to give it up to Amazon without a hard fight," Storch said.
So how is Walmart posing a threat to other major retail stores? Take Costco, for example.
The wholesale retailer claims to provide large quantities of goods for a great value, but not even large wholesalers can have everything in stock.
“[Costco] only carries a few thousand SKUs in that warehouse,” Storch said. "You can't get everything you need there. Walmart, meanwhile, meets all your needs on an everyday basis. It’s the largest grocer in the world, best for our health and beauty care and best for other things."
“[Walmart] finally drew the line in the sand, as you can see with subscription grocery, saying ‘we aren't letting Amazon go any farther.’"
"If they had drawn that line a long time ago, it would be Walmart we'd all be shopping at online," Storch said.
But even with the undeniable rise in e-commerce sales and the battle between Amazon and Walmart at the forefront, retailers may still have a chance of surviving.
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“Very different companies, Costco and Walmart, but both are going to be winners,” Storch said. “There is no retail apocalypse. They're just companies like Target and Dollar General taking the share away from dying sectors like department stores and others.”