We’re all familiar with that “No Stopping, Standing, Parking” sign that is frequently found in high-traffic areas and is aimed at keeping motorists — and more broadly speaking, commerce — on the move. While concise in its messaging, the underlying cause of the sign’s existence is an acknowledgement that even a single obstacle — e.g., one stopped car — in the right place can cause serious ripple effects and ramifications far away from the actual source of the problem.
It is with that same reality and a mindset on motion that had Amazon and Walmart out with a range of plans this week that, while disparate in nature, all shared the same underlying theme: keep people and products flowing smoothly.
Walk Out
Amazon’s Just Walk Out cashierless shopping system marked a major step in its efforts to upsize the technology to handle larger orders and more complicated shopping transactions. The latest deployment of the time-saving tech was its unveiling in a second Whole Foods store in Washington, D.C. this week. Compared to grabbing a sandwich, soda and a bag of chips from a convenience store, the process of picking out an entire grocery list from a store with multiple aisles, departments, and as many as 25,000 SKUs is on a completely different level.
“Just Walk Out Shopping Technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart,” an Amazon announcement said of the time-saving tech that allows shoppers to skip the register and further reduce friction from their food shopping. “When you’re done shopping, you can skip the checkout line. Later, we’ll send you a receipt and charge your Amazon account,” the retailer’s website says, assuring customers that the seeing, sensing and paying technology works whether you’re shopping alone or in a group.
While the company has not revealed specific plans as to how and when it intends to deploy Just Walk Out in its 500 other Whole Foods stores, it’s safe to say that it won’t be stopping at two.
Run More
While Amazon was busy keeping grocery shoppers on the move, Walmart unwrapped its latest plan to keep its employees on the go and in top shape as it unveiled the Walton Family Whole Health & Fitness initiative as the centerpiece of its new corporate campus in Arkansas.
Although not slated to open until the end of next year, the multi-disciplined facility will include a mix of modalities aimed at supporting the holistic mind, body and spirit needs of its staff, including a childcare center that can accommodate 500 kids and the Walton Life Fitness Center.
“Through the years, Walmart has continued to evolve its benefits to ensure we are supporting every aspect of our associates’ lives — inside and outside of work,” Dan Bartlett, Walmart’s EVP of corporate affairs wrote in a blog post, which touted the creativity and innovation behind this “holistic approach to supporting associates and their families.”
Away from HQ, Walmart was also furthering its healthcare ambitions this week as it moved ahead with plans to open at least five new health centers in Florida, starting with a location in Jacksonville that opened this week.
“Two years after the launch of Walmart Health, we continue evolving and growing to make health care even more accessible to the communities we serve,” Dr. David Carmouche, senior vice president of Omnichannel Care Offerings at Walmart, said in a company press release, which noted there was currently just one primary care doctor for every 1,380 Florida residents.
Come Drive With Me
Although it has been said that the U.S. economy “moves by truck,” it also gets a nice helping hand from the wages earned by employees. To that point, Walmart combined the two concepts this week when it announced that it was raising truck driver starting pay and lifting wages for roughly 12,000 of its on-the-road employees.
“Walmart drivers can now make up to $110,000 in their first year with the company. And that’s just a start – drivers who have been with Walmart longer can earn even more, based on factors like tenure and location,” the company’s blog post said.
The attention-grabbing announcement is, of course, aimed at attracting and retaining the people it needs to keep its 210 distribution centers and 5,000 domestic stores stocked. It also comes at a time of intense industry-wide competition for qualified drivers, as well as innovations like driverless trucks to alleviate a problem that spans from factory to final mile and is impacting every retailer, including Amazon.
Fly Me to the Moon
Lastly, we turn to the final frontier — space — where Amazon continues to push the non-retail limits of its consumer ecosystem announcing a long range plan this week involving rocket launches and satellites needed to bring affordable broadband internet service to underserved communities.
In a blog post outlining the update on what it calls “Project Kuiper” the $1.6 Trillion Seattle-based eCommerce leader revealed a roadmap that will use Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to get more people online.
“We’re excited to announce we’ve secured up to 83 launches from three commercial space companies — Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) — to provide heavy-lift capacity for the program,” the company said, before revealing the true scope and scale of its initiatives in space.
“These agreements mean we have enough capacity to carry into space the majority of the 3,236 satellites that make up our satellite constellation,” Amazon said.