Flipkart investment has positioned Walmart as more of a digital and e-commerce business, according to Douglas McMillon, CEO & Director of Walmart. He was speaking on how international markets have influenced Walmart’s investment strategy and its goal of hitting $100 billion in global e-commerce sales.
“With the shift in our international portfolio, with the Flipkart investment in particular, we find ourselves positioned towards more of a digital business and more of an e-commerce business. It's exciting to see a pure e-commerce percentage for international and for the total company growth. I think the story that gets buried there is that the business overall is becoming more digital in its mindset,” McMillon said at the company’s Q2 2022 earnings call.
Global sales
In the past, Walmart has invested in a host of e-commerce businesses across the world including China, Mexico, Canada and India. The company claims to be currently on track to deliver $75 billion in global e-commerce sales this year and expects to reach the $100-billion goal in the near term.
Brett M. Biggs, Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice-President, Walmart, Inc, said that Flipkart has shown strong sales and GMV in the second quarter of 2022. “Even as they (Flipkart) dealt with Covid-19, we continue to see improving trends in monthly active customers and users,” Biggs added.
Festival sale
After witnessing a strong rise in China’s e-commerce penetration during their 6.18 festival, Walmart is now prioritising Flipkart’s Big Billion Day sale, which is expected to be launched early November around Diwali. Festival sales like Big Billion Day are a huge growth season for e-commerce companies. Last year, Flipkart Group, including Myntra, had reported a 65 per cent jump in gross merchandise value (GMV) during festival season sales.
Started in 2007, Flipkart claims to have a registered customer base of more than 350 million, and offers over 150 million products across more than 80 categories. The Flipkart Group consists of companies such as Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, and Cleartrip. Flipkart Group is also a majority shareholder in fintech app PhonePe.