June 1, 2012
Walmart Becomes the Place for ‘Goodies’
The world’s largest retailer is planning a new subscription service called "Goodies" that will allow customers to receive foods not sold in its stores.
Neil Ashe, CEO of global e-commerce for Walmart, according to Reuters, said the program "will launch in the next month or so." The price of the program has yet to be set, but Mr. Ashe, according to AdAge, said to "think of it as cheap."
The sampling program, according to reports, will include artisanal packaged foods not sold in Walmart stores to help gauge customers’ willingness to go outside the stereotypical Walmart shopper’s comfort zone. The retailer will select the items that are included in each month’s deliveries, but may eventually allow companies to pay to have their products included.
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions: What do think of the opportunity behind an ongoing sampling program with products delivered directly to the consumer? Do you think a subscription program will work? Will the program lose its value with consumers if manufacturers can pay to participate?
Poll
Walmart is not known for offering gourmet foods, they are known for low prices, so I have to question whether this makes sense. It seems that every time WM strays from its low price branding, it loses its way with consumers. While I applaud efforts to sell local and smaller company foods, I have to question the likelihood of success.
The subtle objective of Walmart’s new subscription service, “Goodies,” would seem to be to woo customers not now totally captured in the Walmart ilk. It’s an unpredictable opportunity … and unpredictability can become monotonous. So we should learn early on if this latest Walmart thrust has wings.
If manufacturers can pay to participate, we will then know the ideals of this program.
Like Max, I believe there is a disconnect between the typical Walmart customer profile and artisanal packaged foods. Walmart customers are looking for low-cost items and while the term artisan is being much abused these days, I don’t expect items with that adjective applied to them to be low cost. This is a program that much more like a fit for Whole Foods than Walmart.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this idea. Wine, beer and cigar clubs have been doing it for years. But I’m not sure I would connect it with Walmart from a branding stand point. And I certainly wouldn’t look at it as an online test market for new products for the Walmart shelf.
I’m not liking Walmart’s wording. If you look up “Artisanal” the definition you’ll get is for an artisian, “a skilled craftsman.” I’d suggest Walmart stick to the word gourmet. Also, “Goodies” sounds more like your getting a box of snacks.
So the idea is that Walmart is going to chose what food they will send and hope their customers like what they get. But the customer has to pay for a surprise box of food they might hate. For them to like unusual, gourmet food, assumes they are willing to prepare something different. That means they should be creative cooks. I don’t see the typical Walmart customer as a creative cook. Unless Walmart is targeting a new customer base, I question the success of this project.
I can see a subscription program like this working, but not sure I see it working with Walmart. Sometimes I think Walmart wants to try to become something they’re not. You would think they would have learned to remain laser focused on competing on the lowest price with a targeted audience.
Like Janet, I’d have chosen another name. But the program gives Walmart the opportunity to go after both Costco and ethnic markets like Hmart. The key to success will probably be how complete the selection is.
This ties to Walmart’s desire to be the value provider online rather than just being the low cost leader. I know people are buying snacks on amazon.com right now, so Walmart is trying to capture that e-commerce slice of the pie (no pun intended) that amazon.com is starting to take a bite of…. 🙂
It’s a great way to create more opportunities for at-home shoppers to serendipitously discover new items they love. As more shopping moves from the store to the web/home, retailers need to find new ways to introduce new products to their customers, and increase their wallet share.
As a side note, in the interview Neil Ashe also mentioned that after launching the new buy-online pay (with cash) in-store program, they are seeing 40% of the customers actually pay in the store with a credit card. Walmart launched the program to accommodate shoppers who wanted access to the online assortment but who didn’t have a credit card, but it turns out that many Walmart shoppers simply don’t trust the internet with their credit card. It’s a great reminder about how important trust is, and how far we still have to go in addressing users security fears with online sales.
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Walmart is not known for offering gourmet foods, they are known for low prices, so I have to question whether this makes sense. It seems that every time WM strays from its low price branding, it loses its way with consumers. While I applaud efforts to sell local and smaller company foods, I have to question the likelihood of success.
The subtle objective of Walmart’s new subscription service, “Goodies,” would seem to be to woo customers not now totally captured in the Walmart ilk. It’s an unpredictable opportunity … and unpredictability can become monotonous. So we should learn early on if this latest Walmart thrust has wings.
If manufacturers can pay to participate, we will then know the ideals of this program.
Like Max, I believe there is a disconnect between the typical Walmart customer profile and artisanal packaged foods. Walmart customers are looking for low-cost items and while the term artisan is being much abused these days, I don’t expect items with that adjective applied to them to be low cost. This is a program that much more like a fit for Whole Foods than Walmart.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this idea. Wine, beer and cigar clubs have been doing it for years. But I’m not sure I would connect it with Walmart from a branding stand point. And I certainly wouldn’t look at it as an online test market for new products for the Walmart shelf.
I’m not liking Walmart’s wording. If you look up “Artisanal” the definition you’ll get is for an artisian, “a skilled craftsman.” I’d suggest Walmart stick to the word gourmet. Also, “Goodies” sounds more like your getting a box of snacks.
So the idea is that Walmart is going to chose what food they will send and hope their customers like what they get. But the customer has to pay for a surprise box of food they might hate. For them to like unusual, gourmet food, assumes they are willing to prepare something different. That means they should be creative cooks. I don’t see the typical Walmart customer as a creative cook. Unless Walmart is targeting a new customer base, I question the success of this project.
I can see a subscription program like this working, but not sure I see it working with Walmart. Sometimes I think Walmart wants to try to become something they’re not. You would think they would have learned to remain laser focused on competing on the lowest price with a targeted audience.
Like Janet, I’d have chosen another name. But the program gives Walmart the opportunity to go after both Costco and ethnic markets like Hmart. The key to success will probably be how complete the selection is.
This ties to Walmart’s desire to be the value provider online rather than just being the low cost leader. I know people are buying snacks on amazon.com right now, so Walmart is trying to capture that e-commerce slice of the pie (no pun intended) that amazon.com is starting to take a bite of…. 🙂
It’s a great way to create more opportunities for at-home shoppers to serendipitously discover new items they love. As more shopping moves from the store to the web/home, retailers need to find new ways to introduce new products to their customers, and increase their wallet share.
As a side note, in the interview Neil Ashe also mentioned that after launching the new buy-online pay (with cash) in-store program, they are seeing 40% of the customers actually pay in the store with a credit card. Walmart launched the program to accommodate shoppers who wanted access to the online assortment but who didn’t have a credit card, but it turns out that many Walmart shoppers simply don’t trust the internet with their credit card. It’s a great reminder about how important trust is, and how far we still have to go in addressing users security fears with online sales.