These 5 Priorities Reshaped Walmart's Business in 2020

Retailers like to say there was no playbook for 2020, and that’s certainly true of Walmart. At CES 2021 this week, president and CEO Doug McMillon outlined how exactly the retailer proceeded amid a year of upheaval, with priorities shifting as 2020 progressed. While navigating the pandemic, then the summer's racial justice protests, six priorities became clear to McMillon about how business at America's largest retailer had to change. 1. Protecting staff Walmart’s first priority was to keep employees safe, which included protecting their physical, financial and emotional health. The retailer was able to roll out efforts to this end at a speed that surprised even its CEO. “It was amazing to me how quickly our team was able to secure tens of millions of surgical masks for our associates,” he said. “In the early days, they put up plexiglass across our cashier stands [and] in our pharmacies in a matter of days and weeks nationwide, which was incredible to me.” 2. Meeting demand Priority #2 was to keep the supply chain moving after unexpected spikes in demand left store shelves empty. “You'll remember—especially in the early days—there was pressure on the country's meat distribution system, and there have been really a lot of challenges across food in the beginning and then general merchandise,” McMillon said. “I was in a store not long ago where we're still really struggling to be in stock on adult bikes and all the things that people want when they're at home or they want to get outside the house, take care of their yard. … The demand really changed on a lot of those items.” 3. Putting cash flow to good use Once its associates and customers were taken care of, Walmart turned to helping its business partners and communities. “We forgave rents, we gave suppliers different terms, we did other things knowing that we had cash flow, and some of our partners and people that are part of our big supply chain needed help,” McMillon said. The retailer also streamlined its hiring process from a week to as short as 24 hours, including background checks, ultimately bringing on more than 500,000 new employees. “We hired all kinds of people that needed to come and work for a temporary period of time, some of which are still with us, some of them have gone back to the jobs they had before as reopening has occurred around the country,” he added. 4. Preparing for the future Once Walmart got a handle on the immediate crises of the pandemic, it looked ahead to position itself for what's to come in post-Covid shopping. “There were behavioral changes from shoppers that drove our ecommerce business and drove our pickup business and delivery business out of our stores,” McMillon said. “And so we were ready for that to a large extent and were able to react.” In addition, he noted many of these changes are here to stay. “The pickup business and the delivery business are going to just be bigger and grow more, and we're ready to make the most of that,” McMillon added. 5. Promoting racial equity Amid the pandemic's seismic shift in consumer behavior came another reckoning for retailers. McMillon noted that the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020 spurred the retailer to make more progress on diversity, equity and inclusion. After prior successes with environmental and social sustainability, Walmart is applying a similar model to racial equity with four teams led by Black executives. They are focused on policy changes in the financial system, healthcare, education and criminal justice to “generate more equity and shape systems in a positive way,” such as putting store cash deposits in Black-owned banks and working with Black-owned advertising firms. Walmart has also amended its leadership training programs. “All of our officers are going through a two-day session learning more about American history—some things, for example, that I was not taught in school that are facts related to these various systems... that result all too often in inequity,” he added. McMillon’s advice to other brands is to start with education and personal investment—and to have difficult conversations. “A lot of people are afraid to have these conversations because they're worried about saying the wrong thing, but if you don't have the conversations you don't make any progress,” he added. Finally, he said brands should use their own data and metrics to establish objectives, then measure progress toward goals that ultimately benefit everyone. “This is not a zero-sum game where some people win and some people lose. Diverse teams with inclusive environments are more successful,” McMillon said. “And if you grow the company and you grow the pie, everybody benefits—even if you're a white male like myself. So I think you just have to continue to press forward make it a priority. … There's no substitute for having the leaders involved.”