Walmart Contradicts the Government

Last week, the government released a terrible retail sales report for December. I was suspicious. The report was delayed by the shutdown, and if the awful numbers were correct, why haven’t we seen confirmation in other areas?

This morning, Walmart released a blow-out report for Q4.

Walmart’s all-important holiday sales blew past expectations, a sign the retailer can more than hold its ground against Amazon.

Sales in the United States grew 4.2% over the holiday stretch compared with last year, including a 43% rise in digital sales.

Walmart said its online sales got a boost from rolling out grocery pickup to stores across the country. It also expanded delivery to reach more shoppers. More than 10% of Walmart shoppers used curbside pickup in January, according to data from Cowen.

Walmart’s online sales increased quickly after it added pickup and delivery to some stores and acquired new digital clothing brands like Eloquii and Bare Necessities.

The company plans to bring curbside pickup to around 1,000 more stores this year, but predicts that online sales growth will slow to 35%.

The retail giant looks to open higher today by 3.4%.

Posted by on February 19th, 2019 at 9:08 am


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