Walmart Stays Firm In The Game, Expands Alliance With Handy

Walmart Inc. WMT, which has long been taking sturdy e-commerce initiatives to counter Amazon's AMZN growing dominance, is also focused on enhancing store services to customers. This is evident from the expansion of its alliance with household services provider – Handy. Sources revealed that Walmart is extending its agreement with Handy, which will let customers hire helpers at about 2,000 Walmart stores to install or assemble their purchases of television and furniture.

Per the sources, Walmart has already rolled out Handy's services at 25 stores in Atlanta, and plans to increase it to nearly 2,000 stores across the United States by April. With this, customers will not only buy TV's and furniture, but can also enjoy seamless installation and assembling services, by simply scheduling an appointment (between 7 am to 11 pm) during checkout.

This deal is aimed at solving issues related to installation and assembling, which in turn is expected to enrich consumers overall shopping experience. With online shopping and services having become the order of the day, retailers are bound to undertake measures to buck up and offer something different in stores in order to attract traffic and stay strong amid a competitive retail landscape.

While the company has been trying all means to bolster its e-commerce business, this move highlights the big box retailer's focus on stores. The company is trying every means to evolve with the changing consumer environment to compete with brick-and-mortar rivals as well as the e-commerce king Amazon.

In this regard, the company has been taking several e-commerce initiatives, including buyouts, alliances, and improved delivery and payment systems. Most recently, the company inked a deal with Rakuten to sell online groceries in Japan as well as e-books and audiobooks in the United States. Apart from this, Walmart's buyouts of ShoeBuy, Moosejaw, Bonobos, ModCloth and Jet.com, and deal with Lord and Taylor underscore its quest to build an impressive digital brand portfolio.

The company's Walmart Pay mobile payment system, Mobile Express Returns program and efforts to enhance checkout process further highlight its focus on accelerating online business and making shopping easier and faster. Apart from this, Walmart is making aggressive efforts to expand in the booming online grocery space, as part of which it is making constant moves to improve delivery services.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report