Enhancing the customer experience

We’re focused on exceeding our customers’ expectations by strengthening the shopping experience. We’ve expanded the Checkout Promise to provide a faster checkout experience, with more lanes available during peak hours and weekends. In February, we announced an array of changes for associates and a bold new approach to our jobs. These changes to training, scheduling and pay will lead to expanded career opportunities and increased wages for hundreds of thousands of full-time and part-time hourly store associates. Across the country, all entry-level associates now earn a minimum of $9.00 per hour, and by February 2016, current associates will earn at least $10.00 per hour. Our people will have more control over their schedules and access to training that provides a pathway to greater career opportunities. These investments are designed to reignite our associate pride and ownership to improve service to our customers.

Focusing on a quality assortment

We’re an agent for our customer, driving value through improving quality and expanding key brands, at an everyday low price. Customers expect a consistent high quality fresh food experience, which is a key traffic driver to our stores. We’ll continue to strengthen our fresh departments by improving quality, consistency, and presentation, especially with more locally sourced fresh fruits and vegetables. Operational enhancements, from product flow and forecasting, to associate training and development, will ensure a superior fresh offering. Additionally, by leveraging our unified physical and digital capabilities, customers have access to approximately 8 million items across our entire product offering, with more to come this year.

Maintaining price leadership

Customers want value and we’re committed to delivering EDLP. We’re focused on executing a consistent pricing strategy that will provide transparent pricing for our customers through new tools and capabilities. We’ll continue to work with our supplier partners to achieve EDLC. This will allow us to invest in and strengthen our EDLP pricing strategy and offer the value our customers seek.

Aligning formats and channels with customers’ needs

Customers want to save time and money, and Walmart has an ability to serve them anytime, anywhere. While our supercenters provide a convenient one-stop solution, we’ll reinvent the format to exceed customer expectations. And, we’re upgrading our Neighborhood Markets to accentuate our fresh and organic offering. Overall, we expect to add approximately 15 to 16 million total net retail square feet in fiscal 2016, representing between 240 and 270 units.

With our extensive store base, distribution network and e-commerce capabilities, we’re best-positioned to succeed at the integration of digital and physical retail. We’ll continue to make the walmart.com experience more intuitive, personalized and relevant, and we've refreshed our mobile app. We’ll continue to test, learn and innovate as we explore initiatives, such as online grocery delivery and Walmart Grocery Pickup, to provide greater access to our brand anytime and anywhere. And, we’ll accomplish all of this through investments in technology, systems and our supply chain, including our more than 4,500 stores. These investments will give our customers better access to merchandise and make the shopping experience more rewarding.