Walmart continues to defy convention

Walmart is known for many things, but, when it comes down to it, innovation really isn’t one of them. Sure, you can find just about anything you want at any given store, some at any time you want it … but when’s the last time Walmart did anything really, truly … NEW?

Well, they were one of the first national store brands to be open on Thanksgiving. And, if that counts as innovative, then grab a seat, because they’ve done it again. Walmart recently announced plans to stay open until 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve … because nothing says I love you like rushing into the mouth of a retail gauntlet mere hours before Santa lands in your living room.

Of course, this decision has less to do with satisfying customers and much more to do with holding the line against Amazon. Now that the online retail giant offers same-day delivery in some places, Walmart and other brick and mortar stores have to pull out all the stops to keep up with the pace set by Bezos’ behemoth.

In Walmart’s case, this includes changing up delivery dates on online orders to allow as late as possible and still get there well in advance of Christmas morning. For example, regular shipping will make it on anything ordered by December 20, while rush shipping gives customers up to December 22 to get their orders in. That beats UPS (December 18) and FedEx (December 16) by several days.

In this golden age of consumer choice, retailers must do anything to abide by the expectations set by online retailers. Expectations – like same or next day delivery – that may have been laughable not that long ago. Things are different now, and they got that way in a hurry.

Retailers who can’t keep pace can expect to find themselves on the receiving end of some very nasty consumer PR, followed by sharply declining sales numbers.

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