The retailer wants delivery drivers to bring groceries right into your fridge--even when you're not home. Time
Walmart, having pushed ahead in toys and groceries, is announcing that it's going to make a bigger play in the lucrative baby-products market.
The world’s biggest retailer says that its private baby brand, Parent’s Choice, is adding 100 new items and upgrading roughly 100 more.
Enhancing its baby product line could give Walmart an edge at attracting younger consumers just as they are starting families, an important consideration as the chain seeks to woo Millennials. The move also comes at a time when a major competitor, Toys R Us, a leader in baby products with its Babies R Us sub-chain, has filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
The new and updated items will be rolling out into January of 2018, and are already for sale in many Walmart stores. The products include eco-conscious wipes, spill-proof sippy cups, a new 53-piece bedding collection and an expanded menu featuring organic baby food. There will also be environmentally friendly products like a “premium’’ diaper with a lining made in part from sustainable wood pulp and baby wipes crafted from recycled T-shirts.
“We’re just making sure that we are on trend with what consumers are looking for today,’’ says Diana Marshall, a vice president for Walmart U.S.
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Baby products are big business, with roughly $62.7 billion in U.S. sales last year according to consultancy GlobalData. In the most recent 52-week period that ended August 26, baby food and baby formula sales alone were $1.7 billion and $4.2 billion respectively, according to Nielsen.
Parent’s Choice is one of several private brands sold by Walmart, which also offers its own signature lines in categories ranging from electronics to groceries. In the midst of a retail landscape that’s become even more competitive as a growing number of consumers choose to shop with Amazon and other online sellers, private brands are a way to stand out from the crowd and make an actual store a destination.
Private labels make sense, says Neil Saunders, managing director for retail at GlobalData. “It helps to differentiate,’’ he says, “and often allows retailers to compete more effectively on price. ‘’
Walmart rival Target has seen increased sales and foot traffic in the wake of launching exclusive brands like the kid-focused Cat & Jack fashion line, which passed $2 billion in sales after one year. It plans to introduce more than a dozen new brands within the next 18 months including a new home décor line, designed with the hosts of the popular HGTV renovation show Fixer Upper, in November.
But Walmart has been moving ahead on several fronts. Though it trails Amazon, it has surpassed Toys R Us in toy sales. And it is now a major player in groceries.
Under a new partnership with Google, Walmart will allow shoppers to make purchases through the voice-activated device Google Home, the Google Express app or its website. Newslook
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