Walmart has been a tech company since the 80s. The way Walmart got so big is that the created a literal network between stores so they could do logistics at scale. They had the largest database at the time.
Walmart is still the largest company in the world by revenue, with Amazon at its heels, with Amazon's profit beating out Walmart's.
A lot of this thread, I think, is just fantasy land that Amazon is somehow:
1. Destroying Walmart and Target in a way they can't compete.
2. Is more tech savvy than Walmart and Target.
C'mon, read the history of Walmart, it's who put technology into retail.
Just to emphasize this point: Walmart was to the IT revolution what Amazon is to the Internet revolution. They were among the first in the sector to move beyond paper and industrialize IT for operations, which allowed them to scale way faster and way more efficiently than their competition. Walmart's most powerful executives were IT executives, and many of them went on to have very decorated careers, e.g., Kevin Turner was the CIO immediately prior to becoming COO at Microsoft.
Walmart is not an Internet company. It is definitely a tech company. It's just that its tech is no longer super cool.
Good point that Walmart got its edge against incumbents by incorporating advanced technology into their operations.
But for whatever reason, they took their foot off the pedal, and allowed Amazon to use the next step (networking technology and internet) to gain an edge over the now incumbent Walmart.
> 2. Is more tech savvy than Walmart and Target.
The market (via market cap) clearly thinks Amazon has lots more potential than its competitors, and I assume it is because investors think Amazon will be more successful using technology to advance.
Walmart is still the largest company in the world by revenue, with Amazon at its heels, with Amazon's profit beating out Walmart's.
A lot of this thread, I think, is just fantasy land that Amazon is somehow:
1. Destroying Walmart and Target in a way they can't compete.
2. Is more tech savvy than Walmart and Target.
C'mon, read the history of Walmart, it's who put technology into retail.