12 Best Marketing Strategies of Walmart

Walmart is one of the oldest and largest multinational retail corporations.

Established in the 1960s, Walmart operates over 11,500 stores in twenty-eight countries and earns billions of dollars in revenues annually.

Sam Walton founded Walmart to offer budget-friendly options to the struggling class. Over the years, it grew into an international chain, expanding its market from discount stores to supercenters.

Today, you can find pretty much anything in its stores.

Walmart has built an incredibly strong brand position in the global market with clever use of its resources. The retail giant attracts millions of shoppers with effective promotion techniques and retains them with customer-centric methods.

Let’s look at some of the best marketing strategies of Walmart. Here, you’ll discover the tips and tricks Walmart employs to convert leads into customers.

1. Unique Selling Proposition

Walmart is best known as a discount department store. When Sam Walton started the chain, he aimed at high sales volume rather than high profit margins to attract customers and generate quick revenues.

It worked extremely well, and within a few years, the company was already earning $12.7 billion annually.

This type of retail strategy has an exceedingly high success rate. Most supermarkets’ target audience falls in the middle- or lower-income group, and the best way to influence their purchase decision is through an effective price strategy.

You can easily supplement the difference in margin by selling your products in bulk.

Walmart still follows the same “everyday low prices” technique and makes steady profits.

Takeaway

Use pricing as a unique selling point to beat your competition. Retail businesses like yours can generate good sales with this tactic.

You can always distribute the manufacturing cost with bulk stock sales.

2. Strong Brand Identity

Walmart is recognizable by its solid blue and yellow logo. The typeface is basic and clean to represent practicality, and colors are chosen to convey reliability and warmth.

The retail giant has gone through several logo upgrades over the years but eventually reverted to its original color scheme.

A while back, Walmart also added a six-point spark to symbolize inspiration. The spark is displayed on the main sign, packing, and even in employees’ uniforms.

The point of mentioning all the small details is to underscore the importance of well-thought-out branding.

People identify products with their logo and packaging and subconsciously associate brand designs with the company. Without that relationship, your audience may not recognize your content and feel disconnected, making your entire marketing campaign fruitless.

For Walmart, branding is specifically important because it keeps a diverse collection of third-party products. To represent the company, Walmart has created its own unique branding and applied it to all its stores and websites for recognition.

Takeaway

Branding is the core component of a marketing strategy. Without a solid identity, you’d find it hard to compete with other companies.

Create an identity that’s easy to remember and use a consistent theme to make it memorable.

3. Content Marketing

Apart from the brand Identity, Walmart also focuses on its marketing content. Its branding and promotional content are related and tailored to attract blue-collar workers.

Take its slogan, for example.

Walmart’s business model revolves around its pricing strategy. With discounted prices and bulk offers, it sells a variety of products at affordable rates.

This message is reflected in its tagline, “Save Money. Live Better.” And if you look back at its historical slogans, almost all of them deliver the same message.

Walmart’s other marketing content is also geared toward its targeted market. For instance, in 2020, it engaged Lamar Advertising Company to put up several digital billboards. The message contained words like delivery service and free pickup to target working moms.

Takeaway

Optimized content marketing can help you create brand awareness and attract the right audience.

With related content, you can reach several goals, including sending targeted messages to solidify the company’s image.

4. In-store Experience

As a retail chain, Walmart’s primary marketing channel is its brick-and-mortar store. 58.8% of Walmart’s revenue comes from groceries, and in-person purchases account for nearly 87% of its total sales.

To make the store experience better for the customers, Walmart continuously brings innovations and upgrades.

For example, recently, Walmart announced sensory-friendly hours for people who typically feel overwhelmed by noise. With a simple adjustment in in-store music and lighting, Walmart plans to create a quiet ambiance to help customers shop comfortably.

Walmart’s layout alteration during the pandemic is also a good example of in-store optimization. It used bold signage and self-checkout kiosks to discourage proximity.

Pickup and delivery options may have grown significantly in the last few years, but the statistics show people still prefer to buy groceries in person. Walmart is aware of it and ensures the store design is optimized for shopping.

Takeaway

Focus on your store layout. You can utilize wall color and shelf placement to make your products visible and navigation easier.

5. Accessibility

Accessibility is a main component of Walmart’s distribution strategy. The company has established several types of stores and multiple sales channels to simplify product distribution.

For instance, Walmart runs neighborhood markets besides large discount department stores to offer easy access to pharmacy, grocery, and consumable items in small quantities. These are small 38,000 square feet shops designed to handle small traffic.

To make shopping even more convenient, Walmart delivers online purchasing options with delivery and pickup services. 79% of its buyers go for home delivery, and 24% of customers choose the pickup option.

Walmart has built over 200 distribution and fulfillment centers in prime locations to manage distribution. These centers help speed up product delivery and reduce transportation costs.

Takeaway

Today, 70% of customers want immediate service, they often choose the most convenient option.

Optimize your buyer’s purchase journey to make your products and services reachable.

6. POP marketing

A common promotion technique that most brick-and-mortar retail businesses often employ in their stores is POP marketing.

It’s a product display tactic that involves strategically placing promotional items or advertisements to make them more visible.

Walmart, like other supermarkets, uses this technique generously to trigger impulse shopping and sell targeted products. Through checkout counters, in-store demos, and special deals, it creates brand awareness and draws eyes to new products.

A classic example of its POP marketing is the signage. The store places bold price signs, specifically during Black Friday, to grab visitor’s attention.

Takeaway

Utilize your store space to promote particular products.

You can add a pop-up cart, use display windows to highlight certain items, or place samples at the checkout cart to advertise new products.

7. Customer Loyalty Programs

Walmart is a customer-centric brand, and it keeps its customer base strong via various retention strategies.

Using loyalty programs, promotional deals, and seasonal campaigns, Walmart nurtures existing buyers and converts them into repeat customers.

Some of the notable retention tactics it has applied in the past include Walmart cash, checkout points, premium subscriptions, and communities.

There’s also an entire division (Sam’s Club) made specifically for the members, allowing B2B and B2C customers to buy items at wholesale rates.

Takeaway

Customer retention drives better results than generating new leads from scratch. By targeting existing buyers, you can build connections with repeat buyers and stabilize your monthly sales.

8. Multichannel Marketing

Walmart leverages almost every advertising channel for promotions. You’ll often find its advertisements on billboards, TV, digital platforms, and print media.

In 2023 alone, Walmart’s total ad spend was around 4.1 billion dollars. It capitalizes on store location to drive traffic and runs multichannel campaigns to influence the buyer’s purchase decisions.

The company also knows how to apply different elements effectively to grab attention.

Look at its loyalty programs, for example.

In 2020, Walmart introduced a membership program called Walmart Plus, offering free delivery and other benefits for $9 a month. To create product awareness, it ran a 60-second UGC-style commercial featuring 22 families in a home environment.

The advertisements targeted a diverse group, capturing attention with emotional elements. To make the deal more attractive, Walmart applied sales techniques, like signup discounts and referrals.

Takeaway

Use different marketing channels to increase your reach. You can optimize your ads with visual elements and emotional triggers.

9. Diverse Product Line

Walmart might be a retail chain, but it hasn’t limited its revenue opportunities to B2C sales.

Aside from the retail products, it also offers B2B services to third-party vendors, generating revenues from both sides.

If you are a supplier, you can sign up for the Walmart marketplace and list your products on the e-commerce website. You’ll get access to advertising opportunities to post display banners and run promotional deals.

With B2B products, Walmart has created an entire ecosystem for the vendors. By providing better deals, it attracts suppliers and extends the retail product line.

One other good example of a diverse product line is Walmart Business.

The retail giant has set up an e-commerce platform for companies, offering bulk office supplies and services at discounted rates.

Takeaway

Extend your product lines to find more business opportunities. This way, you can target more markets and create multiple revenue streams.

10. Tech Adaptation

The retail market is highly saturated, and competition is fierce.

To keep up with the current trends, Walmart periodically integrates cutting-edge technology into its operations to make shopping hassle-free.

Plenty of examples are available for inspiration.

In 2016, it launched Walmart Pay, allowing customers to pay from their smartphones. In 2018, it introduced a “Scan and Go” in-app service that has helped millions of people buy groceries without in-person contact.

In 2021, it invested in the logistic tech, deploying drones and auto-vehicles for shipments.

Walmart works with a dedicated team of tech experts and associates to optimize the retail shopping experience.

Takeaway

Technology can help you improve your operations and customer service. You can use tech to power up your marketing campaigns and make processes more efficient.

11. Brand Collaboration

Walmart frequently collaborates with third parties to target new markets or introduce product lines.

The strategic partnership with other brands helps Walmart scale its advertisement range and meet specific goals.

Here’s one example. Last year, Walmart patterned with Duo Dave and Jenny Marrs to promote their outdoor living collection. The other party enjoyed brand coverage, and Walmart found the perfect way to compete with leading supermarkets, like Target.

Walmart also works with influencers to launch private labels. It has connected with well-known artists in the past and leveraged their celebrity status to boost its product worth. 

Takeaway

The best way to expand your reach is by collaborating with other brands. It’s not only efficient but also cost-effective. 

12. Indirect Marketing

As a retail chain, Walmart manages a wide network of touchpoints and employs a large number of people from diverse backgrounds.

And like any multinational brand, it faces considerable criticism and backlash from customers, vendors, and associates over ethical and social issues. 

To address those problems, Walmart periodically participates in environmental and social campaigns.

In 2006, Walmart committed 18 million dollars to help hurricane victims. Following that, it offered financial support to promote sustainable agriculture. 

Last year, it launched Project Gigaton to reduce its carbon footprint.

These are just a few examples. Brands like Walmart use factors like social responsibility, sustainability, and ethical marketing to appeal to socially conscious individuals and improve their public image. 

Takeaway

Direct marketing generates new leads for you, while indirect marketing helps you nurture those leads. Use both to strengthen your customer base.

Conclusion

Walmart’s case study offers deep insights into strong retail practices and good marketing tactics.

The company has been running successfully for fifty years and has built a solid reputation with a customer-centric approach.

Take inspiration from Walmart and use its marketing strategies to grow your business. Good luck!