Walmart Strengthens Digital Portfolio by Offering Internet

Before the pandemic, Walmart was considered a traditional supermarket chain. Today, Walmart has come out a winner in this crisis by promoting its e-commerce platform. This has made the retail giant an example to follow, especially for all those companies that want to bet on digitalization. In this context, Walmart has taken another step forward and will now offer home internet service and will be growing the mobile phone service already available in its supermarkets. “We are launching our mobile connectivity service and, in a few months, we hope to provide home connectivity service to reach areas where there is no connectivity. We will continue to increase our connectivity services at the best price and with the best user experience,” said Beatriz Núñez, Vice President of Development for Walmart México to El Financiero.

The Arkansas-based company’s idea is to control the entire process that leads a customer to place an order online, from the telephone connection to the internet connection itself and last mile logistics. “With the current situation and the new normal we will experience in a few months, being connected is essential. Doing so at the lowest price allows us to fulfill our vision of offering low prices so Mexican families can live better,” Núñez explained to Forbes.

BAIT, Walmart’s telephone service, was launched on March 10 in Mexico City. For the time being, the company will offer unlimited free connectivity during July and August after purchasing a MX$20 (US$0.87) SIM card. Unlimited connectivity will be available to customers for MX$50 (US$2.17) per week or MX$200 (US$8.67) per month. Customers will also be able to scan their purchase tickets in stores to receive free megabytes depending on the expenditure made. “This is a model that can benefit our customers and is a unique value of Walmart. Purchases connect our customers, who can take a picture of their ticket from our app to get free megas with every purchase,” explained Beatriz Núñez to El Financiero.

Walmart’s sales increased by 12.9 percent in 1Q20 over the same period last year, reaching MX$169.9 billion (US$7.37 billion). In Mexico alone, where the company has 2,574 stores, Walmart reported 10.8 percent growth in 1Q20 compared to the same period in 2019.