| By Andy Swan Can Walmart (WMT) keep its winning streak going?
Shares are already trading 56% higher year to date, boosted by significant moves to the upside following two earnings events that easily bested expectations. 
Source: TradingView The retail giant looks – well, unstoppable. And shows no signs of slowing down.
Despite its already dominant position as the world's largest retailer (raking in $169 billion in sales per quarter), Walmart continues to find ways to steal market share.
Investments in logistics are helping Walmart compete with Amazon.com's (AMZN) e-commerce prowess – and even winning over some Amazon shoppers.
Now, it's taking on niche e-commerce pet provider, Chewy (CHWY), for a slice of the hundred-billion-dollar-and-growing U.S. pet care market. Walmart Takes a Bite of Chewy Earlier this month, Walmart announced plans to expand its pet care services with new Walmart Pet Service centers in Georgia and Arizona, offering comprehensive solutions for pet owners. 
These centers will provide routine veterinary care, including vaccines, wellness exams, and minor medical treatments, along with grooming services like baths, nail trims, teeth cleaning, and basic hair trims. Pet prescription delivery will also be available, allowing customers to get medications delivered directly to their homes or filled in-store.
Walmart continues to expand its pet prescription services nationwide and has introduced several new pet product lines, including affordably priced options like Goodlands Pet Food and more boutique, small-batch brands like Rocco & Roxie.
Starting October 18, Walmart+ members gained free 24/7 online vet access through Pawp, offering unlimited virtual consultations via text or video. Oh, and we should mention that from October 28 to December 2, it's offering those annual Walmart+ memberships for 50% off as part of its holiday shopping rush.
Walmart is playing the long game with this move into pet care.
First of all, the company knows inflation-pressured pet owners are still spending on their furry companions, even as other items have gotten nixed from the budget. These consumers want only the best for their best friends – no matter the cost, according to a recent Morgan Stanley survey.
By 2030, Morgan Stanley projects total pet care spending to more than double from 2019 levels – from $122 billion to $261 billion.
At a 7% growth rate, analyst Simeon Gutman notes this "outpaces nearly all retail subsegments and is one of the largest rates of return in any retail sector." On a per-household basis, that comes out to an estimated $1,733 spent per pet per year by the end of the decade.
Walmart wants to capture that cash. And LikeFolio data suggests it's more than equipped to do so... Strong Main Street Momentum – and a First for Walmart Our x-ray view into company web metrics shows healthy consumer e-commerce activity across the board. From Amazon all the way down to Target (TGT) and Costco Wholesale (COST), retailers are seeing positive traction, with considerable strength from Walmart (+10% year over year) and its wholesale arm, Sam's Club (+12% year over year). 
Mentions also suggest Target's woes over the last year have been Walmart's gains.
For the first time in company history, Walmart's Consumer Happiness levels are consistently higher than its higher-price-point competitor – a major feat: 
Walmart is making strides in consumer sentiment and engagement via its strong focus on omnichannel offerings. In other words, the company is making sure it's delivering value at every step of the customer journey – from in-store grocery shopping to mobile app ordering and everything in between.
Moving forward, Walmart plans to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) tech into the shopping experience. The goal is to boost productivity and personalization through numerous strategies, including: ✓ Utilizing decades of Walmart's own data to train models tailored into the company's brand.
✓ An AI customer support assistant, integrated into its system, that can handle tasks such as managing returns and tracking orders. (Think: Personal holiday shopping assistant.)
✓ Augmented Reality (AR) environments allowing consumers to have 3D visualization of products, which has already helped to reduce return rates.
The Bottom Line – and Playing WMT from Here Simply put, Walmart is crushing it. And our data suggests this winning streak could continue into the critical holiday season.
Walmart's next earnings release, set for November 19, will be closely watched. Historically speaking, Walmart's stock tends to pull back just prior to earnings events, only to burst higher on a strong report.
If we see a pullback between now and then, we will likely be playing this one to the upside.
We'll continue monitoring our consumer data into earnings next month – and Earnings Season Pass subscribers can expect to see exclusive WMT earnings coverage in their Week 6 Scorecard.
If you're not yet a member of Earnings Season Pass, this is a great time to get started. A whopping 75 companies in the LikeFolio Universe report earnings this week alone, which means there are dozens of immediately actionable moneymaking opportunities awaiting those who join today.
Until next time,  Andy Swan
Founder, LikeFolio Discover More Free Insights from Derby City Daily Here's what you may have missed from Derby City Daily this week... ✓ 3 Sectors Ready to Rally This Election – No Matter Who Wins
✓ Trump vs. Harris: 8 Stocks to Watch for the 2024 Presidential Election
✓ It's GM Versus Ford in the EV Race for Second Place
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment