How Jet.com Prepared Walmart for the Coronavirus Pandemic

The 2016 acquisition made the retail giant an ecommerce player

In Walmart’s Q1 earnings call this week, the retailer announced U.S. ecommerce sales were up 74% and it was discontinuing ecommerce platform Jet.com “due to continued strength of the Walmart.com brand.”

It marks a turning point in a nearly four-year saga as Walmart focuses on customer needs during a pandemic. But despite the shuttering, Walmart certainly wouldn’t be in the position it is today if it wasn’t for Jet.

When Walmart announced the 2016 acquisition, it said the brands would remain distinct as Jet “[provided] a unique and differentiated customer experience with curated assortment.”

Jet launched in 2015 as what financial news site Money.com

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