Say what you want about Walmart but one thing you can’t say is that the company isn’t constantly looking for ways to maximize business, profits and consumer satisfaction.
It’s looking like 2024 won’t be any different because we head into the new year with several reported changes already in the works at Walmart stores across the country.
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Some may be welcomed by customers. Others might not be overly popular.
So, check out the list of the changes we know about, thus far, and keep an eye open to see if you notice them at your local Walmart store:
Happier managers
This is not to suggest that your local Walmart manager wasn’t already a happy person, but it’s hard not to be happier after the news of the past week.
And that’s because Walmart announced that it is bumping managers’ average pay up to $128,000 per year.
Per CNN, Walmart announced the raise on Thursday, and the bump comes out to be about a 9% raise with the previous average being $117,000. Walmart reportedly said that the previous pay range for managers was $65,000-$170,000. The new range will be $90,000-$170,000.
CNN also reported that Walmart is changing the bonus program for its manager to “emphasize profits.”
“If you hit all targets, your bonus could now be up to 200% of your base salary,” the company wrote.
So, a manager who is already at the top of the salary range who hit all of their targets could make … well, they could make a whole heckuva lot of money.
Should buy a few more smiles when you have to ask to speak to a manager because the peanut butter wasn’t priced right.
The drones are coming
Walmart made a splash in the new year by announcing that it is offering drone delivery for up to 75% of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
It calls this the largest drone delivery footprint of any U.S. retailer.
“Drone delivery is not just a concept of the future, it’s happening now and will soon be a reality for millions of Texans,” Prathibha Rajashekhar, senior vice president of Innovation & Automation for Walmart said on the company’s site.
Walmart said it is partnering with on-demand drone delivery providers Wing and Zipline to make it all happen.
“Both are approved by the FAA to fly their drones without a dedicated observer being able to see the drone at all times,” a release on the company’s site says.
The retail giant says the deliveries could happen as fast as 30 minutes or less with some happening in as fast as 10 minutes. The release said there is an option for items to be delivered directly to your refrigerator which … it didn’t really explain how that would be done via drone, but seems like that one would be tricky.
Also, of note, Walmart said it has completed 20,000 safe drone deliveries across the past two years, and it doesn’t sound like it plans to stop in Dallas.
“With nearly 4,700 stores located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population,” the release closes by saying, “We’re uniquely positioned to scale when that time comes.”
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Free samples are coming, too
Picked up some free samples with a Walmart order?
Well, at least some of the stores in central Pa. will slide you a few samples on the side, and that is all reportedly part of advertising initiatives.
Haven’t gotten free samples from Walmart at your local store?
Well, you might just be in luck, because according to multiple reports they plan to expand the program with 1,000 more stores picking up free samples by the end of January.
Who doesn’t like free stuff?
Some self-checkout lines could go away
The store is already reportedly working ads onto the screens at some of its self-checkout stations.
Don’t like that sound of that?
Well, you might be in luck, sort of, there, too. And that’s because, according to reports, with retail theft on the rise, Walmart could take the self-checkout lanes out of some of its stores.
Immersive commerce in gaming
If you thought the drones sounded like something out of the future, well checkout the company’s partnership in 2024 with Unity, which Walmart touts as “the world’s leading platform for crating and growing real-time 3D content.”
According to a release on the company’s website, the partnership will “connect customers’ virtual and physical lifestyles” and will establish “new monetization channels in games and experiences made with Unity.”
The company said developers will now have an opportunity to develop new revenue streams “while keeping players within their games and experiences.”
Essentially, players can be in a game and buy things from the game without actually leaving the game.
You can read more about that, here.
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