Jet’s launch of Wal-Mart’s private label is like a play out of Amazon’s playbook. But this news comes as no surprise since Walmart has been making huge ecommerce changes since it’s acquisition of Jet.com. This is likely one of many steps that will bring Jet and Wal-Mart closer together, allowing them to answer the demands of the modern shopper who wants to shop anything , anywhere and get the best value. But it’s not just Amazon that should see this as a threat.
Securing distribution of Wal-Mart’s private label on Jet.com is a huge threat to manufacturers not only because Wal-Mart/Jet is creating competitive products but also because they are a very important customer. We’ve seen the effects of this recently via Amazon who saw huge growth over the past few years with its private label, and is eating into national brands share. We’ll likely see similar activity with this new play from Jet and Walmart.
With Jet controlling the shopper experience, it is likely that Wal-Mart’s in house brands will be merchandised and promoted heavily and be put top of mind for browsing shoppers. To maintain shopper mindshare and presence, manufacturers and brands need to continue to focus on getting the digital shelf fundamentals right with the assortment, winning in search, establishing and growing ratings and reviews and focusing on media and merchandising to drive conversion.
Image Source: Jet.com
Contributed by: Nicole Vinson
