Walmart’s CRM strategy remains the backbone of its phenomenal success in the retail industry. Their unbending focus on the convenience of customers is admirable and worth emulation.
Walmart is one of the world’s largest retail corporations and operates a hypermarket chain. With over 10,000 stores and a presence in about 24 countries, they remain America’s choicest destination for retail products and services. In this Walmart CRM case study, you’ll learn about the age-long secret behind their incredible success.
“We’re going to make shopping with us faster, easier, and more enjoyable. We’ll do more than just save customers money; you, our associates, will make the difference. Looking ahead, we will compete with technology but win with people. We will be people-led and tech-empowered.”
~Doug McMillon
History of Walmart Timeline and Facts
1962: Walmart is founded
1964: Walmart’s second store opened in Arkansas
1970: Walmart went public and began trading over-the-counter
1972: The company’s stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
1973-1975: Walmart expanded to Tennessee, Mississippi & Texas
1977: The company acquired Mohr-Value stores
1978: They acquired Hutcheson Shoe Company
1979: Walmart’s revenue surpasses $ 1 billion
1981: They acquired 92 of Kuhn’s Big K stores
1988: Walmart became the most profitable retailer in the United States
1991: They kicked off global expansion with its first store in Mexico City
1996: The company hit its first $100 billion in sales within a year
2002: Walmart was listed on the Fortune 500 list as America’s largest corporation
2003: Fiscal 2003 revenues of $244.52 billion make Walmart the world’s largest corporation.
2006: Walmart kicks off plans to remodel its United States stores
2015: The company became Unites State’s biggest commercial producer of solar power
2018: Walmart announces its brand of meal kits
…and the rest is history.
4 Ways Walmart Uses Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
1. Walmart+ Loyal Program
You might be wondering how the Walmart+ loyalty program works: I’ll tell you in a minute.
In September 2020, the company announced the Walmart+ program to help customers save more time and money. The program is part of Walmart’s CRM strategy to offer more convenience to shoppers in-store and offline.
“Customers know they can trust us and depend on us, and we’ve designed this program as the ultimate life hack for them. Walmart+ will bring together a comprehensive set of benefits where we see the greatest needs from our customers and where our scale can bring solutions at an unprecedented value,” said Janey Whiteside, Chief Customer Officer at Walmart.
The Walmart+ program is similar to Amazon Prime, where customers pay a monthly subscription to access some premium services. As of writing, the program costs $98 a year or $12.95 a month, which entitles the customer to unlimited free delivery, unlock contactless shopping with the Walmart app and fuel discounts.
This initiative is an innovative way through which Walmart creates customer loyalty and increases customer retention rates.
Think of how you can leverage technology to increase customer loyalty. It might be as little as creating an incentive program for customers or something out of the box.
2. Walmart's Multichannel and Omni-channel CRM Strategy
At the core of Walmart’s selling strategy are simplicity and cost-savings. And they try as much as possible to eliminate any friction that could deter the customer from making an instant purchase.
Let’s start with Walmart’s Multichannel initiative. This gives the customers many options and channels for buying and collecting items. Customers can buy products online via the website, app, and FEDx site and pick them on at the nearest Walmart store. There are no restrictions to purchase and delivery. It’s as seamless as the banking process.
For the omnichannel initiative, customers can buy from any of their multiple marketing channels and get an almost instant delivery of their items. Even though their stores are everywhere, you don’t always need to walk into them. You can order from their app and get amazing discounts and coupons too.
In a survey conducted by InMarket in 2021, Walmart had a loyalty score of 3.22, earning them the retail outlet with the most loyal customers in the United States. That said, their multichannel and omnichannel nature played a major role in winning customers’ hearts.
Customers don’t just want quality products; they want them now. Be the brand that makes customers’ lives easier, and you’ll get their loyalty.
3. Walmart's Financial Services
Walmart’s CRM strategy is all-encompassing. They’re optimizing every customer touchpoint for optimal convenience, and the payment segment is not left out. The company offers three cashback rewards.
The first is The Walmart Money Card – a debit card that allows customers to shop at the Walmart website, Walmart Stores, and Walmart fuel stations and earn a cashback of 1%, 2%, and 3%, respectively. Apart from that, customers get up to $200 overdraft protection with opt-in & eligible direct deposit.
The second and third cards are The Walmart Rewards Card and Capital One Walmart Rewards® Card respectively. They enable customers to receive cashback shopping on their online and store outlines. With these cards, customers get up to 5% cashback with zero annual fees.
Apart from the rewards from using these cards, customers can also get rewards by participating in Fetch Rewards and using Walmart Pay App. Say, Walmart is optimized to delight its customers at every step of the journey.
Bringing it home, what incentives can you offer to your customers today to win their hearts? It might be a little as a 1% discount. The bottom line is that customers love to win every transaction by buying at the best or discounted price. Give them the best price, and they’ll come again.
4. Walmart's Innovative Store Design
In 2020, Walmart unveiled its new store design to create seamless Omni-shopping experiences that save customers time and inspire them in-store, online, or via mobile.
Everything was designed to empower the customers to quickly make purchases and go from the parking lot to the shelf arrangement to the checkout spot. This new store has three main core features: Omni-shopping spark and optimized entrance, airport aspiration and product spotlight, and contactless checkout & payment.
That means customers don’t need to interact with any store attendant except when necessary. With the Walmart mobile app on their phones, they can easily scan the QR codes on the products and make payments instantly. These processes add color to the Walmart CRM strategy.
5. Cost-Savings for Customers
Let’s face it. Customers like it when they get the best products at a low price. And almost no one likes being ripped. From Walmart’s tagline, “Save money, live better”, it is clear that their product prices are fair and will allow the customers to save more.
It is worth noting that Walmart offers low prices. I’ve patronized them several times, and I’m blown away whenever I visit their stores. This is part of why they’ve been able to win their customers’ hearts and stay in business for multiple decades.
Don’t just offer low prices but say it. Customers might not notice if you don’t draw their attention to it. Similarly, low prices are just a fraction of the equation and won’t make up for bad customer service. Be like Walmart, and give your customers a 360% delightful experience both online and offline.
What CRM does Walmart Use?
Now to the big question: What CRM software does Walmart use?
Let’s get things straight here. Walmart does not use any third-party CRM software. Their customer relationship management tool is custom-built into their online channels (mobile app + payment platform + website) to enable them to capture and manage customers’ information easily.
Multinationals like Apple, Tesla, and Walmart have custom-built CRM software. Mainly because of their size and because they want complete autonomy over their customer’s information.
However, I will recommend Pipedrive CRM, Zendesk, and Zoho CRM. They’ll all be fantastic, enabling you to level up your customer service game entirely. Give them a try. You can start with their free plans.
The Best Overall
Pipedrive
A sales-focused CRM that leverages AI to automate sales, lead & demand generation.
Best Budget Choice
Freshsales
Freshsales automates your sales process, and helps drives sustainable business growth.
Best for Workflows
Zendesk
Customize your workflows to track all aspects of the sales cycle, from lead gen to post-sale support.
Final Thoughts
Walmart’s CRM strategy is a playbook for customer loyalty. The core secrets of their age-long growth and customer allegiance have been summarized in this article.
Pick a few or all and run with them. Additionally, replicating their strategies is optional. You need to be creative with them. Once more, I recommend Pipedrive CRM, Zendesk, and Zoho CRM. Check and try them out. It’s a shortcut to replicating some of the strategies listed here.
If you have questions, kindly ask in the comment below.
