Wal-Mart Redesigns Website for Mobile Users

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, redesigned its website to be more compatible wit…

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, redesigned its website to be more compatible with tablets and mobile devices as it competes for shoppers with online rivals such as Amazon.

The updated Walmart.com site expands and improves personalisation based in part on shoppers’ order and search histories, Dan Toporek, a Wal-Mart spokesman, said in an e-mail. The new “My Local Store” section of the site allows customers to see promotions at their local stores, Toporek said. The updated site is now available to about half of its daily customers, he said.

Wal-Mart is bolstering its e-commerce presence amid growing pressure to compete with Amazon and to squeeze more growth from the Internet. In June, the company elevated Latin American executive Fernando Madeira to chief executive officer of Walmart.com.

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart is also modernising the technology used to run its search engine and personalization and recommendation tools in order to “lay the foundation” for future updates to the website, Toporek said.

Wal-Mart shares were unchanged at $73.54 at the close in New York. The shares have declined 6.5 per cent this year.