Wal- Mart: Tech investments will boost online sales

Fayetteville: Wal- Mart Stores Inc executives touted the technology investments the world's No. 1 retailer is making to boost online sales, during the annual shareholder meeting on Friday. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon spoke about initiatives like online grocery pick up, the retailer's two- day shipping program and its mobile wallet, Wal- Mart Pay. His comments capped off a week- long media event where the company displayed drones in warehouses and announced a partnership with Uber to deliver online groceries. "We get to reimagine retail again, and that's what we are going to do," McMillon said. He also said changes to boost e- commerce sales will take some time to show results. Wal- Mart onlines sales growth has sharply decelerated for five quarters even though its overall performance has been better than most competitors. In the first quarter, online sales growth was 7 percent, down from 8 percent, 10 percent, 16 percent and 17 percent in the previous periods. In 2015, Wal- Mart's online sales rose 12.3 percent to $ 13.7 billion, which was less than the jump of more than the 16 percent for market leader Amazon. com Inc, to $ 92.4 billion. The meeting at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetville, 30 miles from the company's headquarters in Bentonville, was packed with 14,000 people, including workers from around the world and shareholders. Keeping with its practice of showcasing celebrities at the annual event, the meeting was hosted by talk show host James Cordon. Singers like Katy Perry, Andy Grammar and Nick Jonas also performed on stage. The enthusiastic atmosphere momentarily turned somber after two shareholder proposals demanded higher wages, better treatment of employees and an independent chairman.