Walmart’s acquisition of Art.com, online art retailer is set to see a wave of product “inspiration and choice” to customers, announced the marketplace yesterday.
Walmart is focusing on enriching the marketplace’s goods offering with the art retailer’s 2m art and decor and including a growing exclusive items assortment. The marketplace is set to operate Art.com’s assets as a standalone and complementary to feature their vast-ranging goods on Walmart.com, Jet.com, and Hayneedle.com. The deal is expected to close early next year. Shoppers will be able to browse for art products, wall decor, and personalised print-on-demand options available in the home category.
Walmart’s senior vice president and general manager of home, Anthony Soohoo puts the acquisition of Art.com’s assets to the marketplace’s newly studied customers’ wants and needs. It is to do with “creat[ing] an even richer, deeper customer experience,” he says, to cater to “how customers want to shop, what inspires and the process they undergo to create a space they love.” These news mark the marketplace’s objective to become “a speciality retail destination for the home,” he adds, to see shoppers new ideas and inspiration when it comes to their home design.
This announcement comes as we saw Walmart introducing a new service app payment service that will see shoppers ordering and paying for an online item in-store. The marketplace’s new service is designed to bind the best online and offline practices via a new in-store app. Customers are able to order items they can’t locate in the supermarket via sales associates’ help, who are equipped with a device that has the new app.
As it appears Walmart is investing heavily in new acquisition deals and innovations that look to keep the marketplace relevant to their clientele and stay on top competition. These advancements also advantageous to merchants that will possibly aim to benefit from an increased influx of art-inspired customers on Walmart.com.
