Bank Of America Just Met With Wal-Mart's Head Of Investor Relations; Here's What Happened

In a report published Tuesday, Bank of America analyst Robert Ohmes detailed a meeting held with

's Head of Global Investor Relations Carol Schumacher to discuss the company's associate and store investments, category performance, e-commerce growth and the state of the U.S. consumer.

Ohmes noted that Wal-Mart already began a $1 billion investment in its associates, training programs, in-stock levels and the addition of thousands of department store managers. The analyst stated that this could help boost employee morale, "freshen" store appearances and reduce check-out time wait for the 2015 Holiday season.

While only 40 percent of Wal-Mart customers purchase fresh produce, the company plans to improve the category by reducing shipping days from its suppliers (helps improve quality and shelf life) while also renewing its focus on food presentation.

Health, Home and Apparel have posted "solid" mid-single digit to high-single digit comps over the past few quarters. However, Ohmes suggested that general merchandise sales will remain under pressure due to electronics deflation.

Wal-Mart is progressing towards a "seamlessly integrated" one-stop shop between physical and digital. In addition, its Shipping Pass program ($50 annual membership fee from Walmart.com) and grocery pick-up (early test phases in one region only) are "key" e-commerce initiatives for future growth. The company is also building four new e-commerce fulfillment centers to support online growth in the bottom half of 2016.

The low end consumer is benefiting from lower gas prices and could see further benefits from rising wages, according to Schumacher. However, higher health care costs, higher taxes and increased tech spend (primarily cell phones) will at least partially offset the lower gas prices.

Shares of Wal-Mart remain Buy rated with an unchanged $90 price target.