Walmart has partnered with the Chinese shopping platform Meituan to boost sales and e-commerce businesses in that country.
The US company will now be featured on the popular app, which is seen to help Walmart accelerate its business in China.
Reuters reports that the partnership follows Walmart’s August sale of a stake in Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com for $3.7 billion.
JD.com is one of the top Chinese retailers and enterprises around the world.
Meituan is a top pick for customers in China
Walmart has picked Meituan, one of China’s most prominent food delivery companies, to expand its business in that region.
Many Chinese consumers use the Meituan app to deliver essential household items quickly. Jason Yu, general manager at CTR Market Research, has told Reuters Walmart will now become “more visible” by being on the Meituan app.
Walmart’s latest financial performance
Last month, Walmart cut its US delivery costs per order by 40%. It’s been focused on helping consumers on tight budgets save money.
It did this by using automated systems in more than half of its fulfillment centers, which is double the number just a year ago.
Walmart reported a robust Q3 2024, with total revenue reaching $169.6 billion. That’s an increase of 5.5%, driven by e-commerce growth and strong inventory management.
Global e-commerce sales surged by 27%, fueled by store-fulfilled pickup, delivery services, and marketplace growth.
Walmart competing with Amazon in online sales
Walmart has been competing with Amazon for faster deliveries while reducing costs and keeping customers happy.
It added another 300 delivery stores to the 4,200 Walmart stores it already had last year.
With this level of seriousness about competing in the e-commerce industry, the partnership with Meituan is seen as another step in this direction.
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Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
