Walmart says it’s ready for the holiday season. The largest retailer in the nation released its third-quarter earnings report Tuesday, Nov. 19, with the keyword being “momentum.”
Walmart executives used the word nearly a dozen times during the call to describe the company’s position heading into the biggest shopping period of the year.
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The retailer topped earnings and revenue expectations with U.S. sales increasing 5% in the third quarter to $114.9 billion. E-commerce business rose 22% with gains coming from curbside pickup and home delivery, along with the expansion of its online advertising and marketplace businesses.
“In the U.S., in-store volumes grew, pickup from store grew faster and delivery from store grew even faster than that. Becoming more convenient for our customers and members is helping drive our growth,” Doug McMillon, Walmart’s chief executive, said.
Part of that growth was driven by Walmart attracting more higher-income shoppers. Those earning more than $100,000 accounted for three-quarters of the company’s gains.
Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman told Reuters the Walmart Plus membership program has helped bring in these affluent customers as the company continues to build its delivery service.
One perk of the program gives members free same-day deliveries on orders over $35. To help grow the program even more during the holidays, Walmart has slashed the price by 50% through early December.
Walmart said its investment in grocery and household sections has led to these higher-than-expected results.
“As we grow our (online) assortment, we’re able to appeal to more people and appeal to higher income levels,” McMillon said.
“Everybody wants to save money and everybody wants to save time. It’s a continuum. And those that have more discretionary income and want to save time are liking what we’re doing with both pickup and delivery,” he added. “And I think that’s one of the things that makes this moment in time different.”
Walmart is one of the first retailers to give a glimpse of where it stands going into the holiday shopping season. On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Target, one of its biggest competitors, will release its latest report.
