Walmart's stores are playing a crucial role in fulfilling the discount giant's online orders while helping to drive double-digit e-commerce growth.
The company's fiscal fourth-quarter results indicated momentum toward achieving success from its omnichannel strategy, a long-coveted status in the industry involving physical stores, online sales and fulfillment being fully integrated as one continuous experience for shoppers. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer discussed its online performance Thursday.
For the full year, the company saw its overall revenue rise 4.7% to $713.2 billion, a record. The retailer's U.S. comparable sales were up 4.6% in the quarter ended Jan. 30. Domestic online sales soared 27%.
John Furner, Walmart's newly installed CEO, touted the company's progress in its abilities — and speed— as an omnichannel retailer and its growing appeal to higher-income shoppers as well as more cash-constrained patrons. The company is also continuing to roll out automation in its warehouses and is layering artificial intelligence on top of its existing platforms, he said. In concert, this is all propelling Walmart's gains, according to Furner.
Walmart, which also owns Sam's Club, is one of many retailers that are now using their stores as part of their supply chain for e-commerce fulfillment, part of a group that includes Target and Macy's. It's a trend that got a foothold during the pandemic, when stores were ordered closed and turned to e-commerce for sales, with items delivered or picked up curbside on-site.
"As you step back and just think about this — the omni strategy, the role of stores, the role of the app and how they work together — it's just important to remember that stores are a huge part of the solution to deliver the customer experiences that the customers are looking for," Furner said. "Having the U.S., with 5,200 locations between Walmart and Sam's, where inventory is forward-deployed is really helpful."
Paycheck to paycheck
He kicked off his remarks by describing Walmart's evolving customer base.
"In the U.S., we see the customer as choiceful in their spending," Furner said. "Again, this quarter, the majority of our share gains came from households making more than $100,000. For households earning below $50,000, we continue to see that wallets are stretched. And in some cases, people are managing spending paycheck to paycheck. That said, even these households are emphasizing convenience nearly as much as price."
Walmart's online sales globally rose 24% in the fourth quarter, with the company delivering more goods faster. In the United States, 35% of store-fulfilled online orders were delivered in under three hours, according to Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey. Sam's Club doubled its growth in club-fulfilled delivery sales, he said.
"E-commerce sales were strong across markets," Rainey told Wall Street analysts. "We're using our unique assets, stores and clubs, [distribution centers] and [fulfillment centers], and last-mile delivery networks to get orders to customers faster and more efficiently, remove friction from the experience and accelerate our sales momentum."
Walmart's domestic growth in e-commerce sales is a result of "leveraging our physical footprint," according to Rainey.
"So, this is an interconnected system," he said. "So we are making further investments in our store network as a result in that physical footprint. Over the past 12 months, we've opened 12 new stores and we've remodeled 674 stores. Our investments in both of those areas are outperforming plan, and I think that just reinforces the strength in the omnichannel model."
Amazon pulls ahead
In the United States, customers using fast online delivery — that is, delivery in under three hours — grew more than 60% last year, according to Furner.
Although Walmart reported strong results, it has still just been unseated by Amazon as the biggest global company by revenue. The e-commerce juggernaut posted $717 billion in sales in 2025, inching ahead of Walmart's $713.2 billion.
Neil Saunders, a retail analyst and managing director at analytics firm GlobalData, described Walmart's strides in a note Thursday.
"At the heart of Walmart’s success is the U.S. business, where fourth-quarter sales rose by 4.6% on both a total and comparable basis," Saunders said. "This represents a very solid market share gain, particularly in grocery. From our data, more customers than ever turned to Walmart this holiday season. This includes one of the largest-ever shares of higher-income shoppers who are, primarily, attracted to Walmart for the value for money it provides."
An elevated e-commerce experience resonates with that segment, according to Saunders.
"The main point of interaction of a lot of higher-income shoppers is online," he said. "The same holds true for the increased penetration among younger shoppers. Indeed, both things helped underpin the 27% uplift in e-commerce sales at Walmart U.S. this quarter. Online ... is a more flexible channel as it facilitates a wider selection of products and personalization depending on user needs."
Walmart didn't respond to an email from CoStar News seeking comment on Saunders' remarks.
On Thursday afternoon, Walmart's stock was trading at $125.85, not far from its year-high of $134.69. The stock is up about 21% over the past year.