At South by Southwest (SXSW) this year, the world’s biggest retailer is doubling-down on its virtual reality (VR) and machine-learning initiatives to prove itself as a modern, tech-savvy retailer. According to CNBC, Jeremy King (pictured above, center), Walmart’s chief technology officer, is taking the stage to demonstrate how its various technologies improve the experiences of their customers and associates.
“People all have their own perceptions of Walmart,” King told CNBC ahead of his panel at SXSW. “I’ve wanted people to understand we are building a tech organization…I’ve got a machine-learning team. We have some of the best apps in the world.”
Since its inception in Arkansas in 1962, Walmart has struggled to fit in the modern retail environment. When consumers think of Walmart, they’re thinking of low prices and vast warehouses, not VR and artificial intelligence. However, Walmart’s been integrating technology for years, including its VR training expansion to nearly 5,000 stores across the United States.
King said Walmart is adding technology to stores for the sake of efficiency, not just “for tech’s sake.” Shelf-scanning robots are cutting down the time associates spend running around the store floors, freeing them up to talk with customers. King told CNBC that the right machine learning can help Walmart find a single box of cereal sitting on a truck before it gets to one of the retailer’s distribution centers.
“Everything is so real time,” King explained. “We can react to [out-of-stocks] instantly. Change an order on the fly and the warehouse can send the order…where before it could take a week.”
In its latest quarter, Walmart’s e-commerce sales surged 43 percent. Considering its string of acquisitions of e-commerce companies (like Jet.com, Art.com, lingerie brand Bare Necessities, etc.) and its growing online grocery business, Walmart is serious about investing on the internet.
“We don’t get a ton of credit for being a tech company,” King said. “But we have been for a long time.”
Thumbnail Source: CNBC
