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Sam Walton’s mantra of putting the customer first remains a focus for Walmart US consumer electronics product manager Brock McKeel and chief product officer John Alfernes.
Mr. McKeel and Mr. Alfurness recently participated in a fireside conversation with Deloitte’s Kevin Meagher at the NWA Technology Summit in Rogers to discuss their efforts to transform the shopping experience in the competitive retail environment. .
McKeel said customers are busier than ever and, at least in the technology field, rely heavily on the phone in their pocket to get what they need, whether it’s information, groceries or checking in with family via text message. Stated. He said the electronics business is constantly changing and his job is to make sure Walmart offers the right selection at the right time at the best price. This includes everything from cell phone chargers to speakers to his home security system, not to mention electronic screens from his iWatch to his 85-inch flat screen TV.
McKeel said Walmart stores are representative of the communities in which they are located. He said not all postcodes have the same needs or financial means, and stores need to reflect entry price points as well as big-ticket items so that all customers have access to the technology they need. He said that there is.
“Our mission to save people money so they can live a better life is at the core of what we do. But we don’t talk much about the finer parts of live music. In the electronics field, affordable prices There is an opportunity to transform the customer experience through smartphones and streaming devices,” he said.
Alfernes said the division’s employees design digital products for use by customers and employees, with a focus on improving the overall experience in stores and online.
“The customer journey in omnichannel retail spans several business segments at Walmart, but for the customer it is one single end-to-end journey. “We strive to make the experience simple and enjoyable over and over again,” he said.
He said product development employees include engineers and designers on the technical side, as well as business teams to ensure that the products developed solve the right problems.
One of the products, known as MIAD, was developed for store employees using generative AI. Alphanes said Walmart uses its rich proprietary data to provide large-scale language models as a data source for store employees who work as search assistants. He says that when a shopper in the toy department asks an employee for an idea for a birthday gift for a 7-year-old girl, the employee can ask the assistant and make an informed suggestion, which helps the customer as well. He said he has benefited from MIAD. Alfurness said MIAD is trained using Walmart data and also incorporates outside sources to provide informed answers.
McKeel said MIAD excels in the electronics sector because the questions employees receive are often technical and complex. Before MIAD, store departments kept manual books that employees could reference data from, but they weren’t as comprehensive and up-to-date as new digital sources.
McKeel said omnichannel sellers need to know more than category brands, market share data and price. Social media is also an indicator of demand, emerging trends, and customer preferences. He says there are many ways small brands can disrupt categories through social media, something that would have been impossible 10 years ago.
McKeel, who worked in grocery stores before entering the electronics industry, said there have been instances where smaller brands have owned the category because traditional brands haven’t adapted. He said legacy brands don’t adapt, which has allowed Walmart to step in and, in some cases, become a disruptor in private brands.
“You can make changes yourself, you can signal change, you can react to change, but if you don’t listen to your customers, you can miss out on change. “It has the potential to be a more sustainable product. If you listen to your customers’ needs and deliver on that, they will respond with their wallets,” he said.