The effort to develop an ecommerce arm began in earnest in 2016, with the acquisition of Jet. Walmart also brokered a deal to buy ModCloth, an online purveyor of women’s clothing.
Walmart already has an internal research lab that has focused on developing new ecommerce applications for the retailer.
But Store No. 8 is the first incubator or investment arm of its kind at Walmart, which has a market value of USD 213 billion. Store No. 8 is meant to foster relationships with entrepreneurs, particularly those in the fields of artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles and other emerging technologies.
Store No. 8 is intended to help create new start-ups. It will also strike strategic partnerships with other promising young ecommerce companies. Along with incubating new ventures, Store No. 8 will be able to draw on Walmart’s resources to support any start-ups that it launches.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now