Sarah Engel, CMO of DynamicAction, offered expert commentary for Chain Store Age regarding Walmart's recent announcement that, starting April 19, it would offer a discount on select items that are ordered online and then picked up in the store. She commented on what the new initiative means for Walmart in terms of last-mile delivery as well as its competitors.

“Last-mile delivery makes up 28% of the costs of delivery alone. Walmart knows this all too well and is turning to buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) to reduce this costly expense with its new Pickup Discount program. Not only is the company reducing the hit to its profits by minimizing its delivery costs, but Walmart is further setting themselves apart from Amazon by connecting its purchase data across all channels and utilizing its physical stores to its advantage as local distribution centers – something Amazon is not in a position to do.

Furthermore, Walmart is driving the online shopper into the physical store, where they are well positioned to drive incremental sales. The DynamicAction Retail Index shows an increase of 138% in orders using express shipping so far in 2017 compared to 2016 – meaning that more than ever, consumers are willing to pay to get their packages now.

Walmart’s Pickup Discount program allows consumers to get their package when they want it and to save money. This is a win-win for the consumer and a strategic advantage for Walmart as they begin to sync their Jet.com acquisition to calculate these savings for customers and distance themselves from Amazon by better leveraging their unique physical store footprint.”

Read the full article here.

We've compiled 24 questions around inventory, returns, marketing and warehousing that your organization should be asking to succeed in 2017. With DynamicAction, your team answer questions like these, as well as understand the interconnection of each data point and decision. 24 Questions Every Retailer Should Be Able to Answer