Walmart's new experiment: Creating a "grass-seeding" experience in supermarkets

In Shekou, Shenzhen, in front of a Walmart store that has been open for 26 years, a red display board reading "Search for treasures at Walmart and share your finds on Xiaohongshu" attracted a large crowd. Shoppers stopped to take photos and discuss. Inside the store, the original shelf layout was re - planned into 8 vividly colored "Interest Islands". Nearly 20 co - branded products, including nut gift boxes and the uniquely shaped "Planet Space Crisps" gift boxes, were scattered among them like "surprise drops".

This was the scene on January 16, 2026, the opening day of the first co - branded store of "Walmart x Xiaohongshu". It was also an outward manifestation of Walmart's self - innovation. Beneath the bustling surface, a more profound and multi - year transformation was taking place within this global retail giant.

"For a long time, the public's impression of Walmart remained that of a traditional hypermarket," admitted Zhu Jun, Senior Vice President of Walmart China and Chief Procurement Officer for the Walmart format. "But today, our transformation has shown initial results."

This "out - of - the - box" collaboration with Xiaohongshu allowed the outside world to glimpse the real essence of Walmart's systematic transformation. It was not an isolated marketing event but a profound self - innovation centered around the principle of "customer first", encompassing products, channels, and experiences.

I. From 'Satisfying Everyone' to 'Understanding a Group of People'

Currently, the competition in the retail industry has shifted from the pursuit of incremental growth to a battle for the existing market. As consumer demands become increasingly diverse and personalized, the "big and comprehensive" model of traditional hypermarkets is gradually losing its effectiveness. Walmart's transformation began with a bold strategic focus. Instead of trying to satisfy all customers, it targeted urban middle - class families and single individuals.

This group has a clear profile: They live in cities, may be dual - income families or single individuals with good professional backgrounds. They have compact living spaces and fast - paced lives and are natives of the digital age. They value both quality and cost - effectiveness and aspire to "spend less and live better".

"All our changes revolve around this clear target customer group," explained Zhu Jun. This seemingly simple "focus" action became the strategic fulcrum for leveraging the transformation of the entire large - scale system.

After setting the target group as the "primary" objective, how to better understand them is an ongoing question with no end.

To understand the real thoughts of this group, Walmart established an efficient user feedback mechanism. As a detail, Zhu Jun spends time browsing Xiaohongshu during his daily commute to see what users are sharing, complaining about, and expecting, as well as their lifestyle attitudes. "The expectations and profiles of Walmart customers almost perfectly match those of Xiaohongshu users."

In this collaboration with Xiaohongshu, a 10 - liter large - sized beer product stood out but also brought "pleasantly surprised" feedback to the Walmart team. "These products were inspired by Xiaohongshu users and are what people are willing to share after seeing them. Eventually, the number of related notes exceeded our expectations," said Zhu Jun.

Today, Walmart's product development path can be summarized as: Clearly define who they are serving, try every means to understand their needs and preferences, and then translate these needs into products through an agile feedback mechanism and a powerful supply chain.

The rise of the private brand "Walmart Fresh Collection" is a concentrated manifestation of this reshaped product logic. It is not a "private - label product" that simply follows trends but a brand that meets the target customer group's pursuit of "simplicity for freshness" - simple ingredients, fresh origin, fresh raw materials, and fresh experiences, directly addressing the deep - seated needs for a healthy, transparent, and high - quality life.

During a store tour, Zhu Jun casually picked up a co - branded nut gift box with Xiaohongshu and said, "For example, this one contains 100% pure nuts without any additives." When developing this product, the original idea was to have a non - see - through package with nice pictures, but Zhu Jun insisted on a transparent window on the package. "Customers must be able to see the real nuts inside at a glance."

These details convey the same message: We understand what you care about. Although the retail system is complex, what Walmart is doing is to simplify and pursue "authenticity" and "simplicity". Behind this, a complete product development system, from in - depth consumer insights, direct global supply chain procurement, to strict quality control, supports this giant player.

The results of the "focus" are obvious: In the past year, "Walmart Fresh Collection" upgraded and launched over 1,000 new products. From the small - packaged milk quickly launched in response to customer feedback to the zero - sugar and low - calorie snacks developed based on health trends, an unprecedentedly agile feedback loop has been formed between products and customer needs.

From a business logic perspective, Walmart's transformation essentially returns to the key to its past decades of leadership - using "whether it meets the needs of the core customer group" and "whether it wins user trust" as the criteria for all work. This change also lays the foundation for all its product innovations and channel upgrades.

II. Another Possibility for Stores

If the reshaping of product strength is the transformation of "goods", then the construction of an omni - channel system is the reconstruction of the "shopping environment".

Previously, the debate in the retail industry about "whether offline stores will be replaced by online platforms" has lasted for many years. Walmart's layout in this regard provides a different answer: Offline stores may no longer be the only sales center, but they remain an irreplaceable experience center and a carrier of trust. On this basis, different channels have their own functions, catering to different consumption scenarios and together creating a seamless shopping experience.

It is worth noting that Walmart's omni - channel layout always serves the same core customer group, which ensures the focus of product development and maximizes the scale effect. This model avoids problems such as "disconnection between online and offline" and "resource waste" that many retailers encounter during the omni - channel transformation and becomes its differentiating advantage compared to pure e - commerce platforms.

"Each business model serves the same group of customers. This is the fundamental reason why we can continuously provide stable quality - to - price ratios," Zhu Jun explained the underlying logic of Walmart's omni - channel strategy.

Today, Walmart's community stores, as the "nerve endings" closest to consumers, have a clear positioning: small - scale, carefully selected products, and close to customers. They target the "10 - minute walking radius" to meet the basic "five meals a day" needs of community residents. According to 36Kr, currently, its community stores have entered a stage of rapid replication, with positive growth in customer flow, repurchase rate, and sales data.

Meanwhile, the original large - scale stores have not been neglected. Last year, Walmart completed the upgrade and renovation of nearly 100 large stores, and this year's plan is to renovate all that need to be renovated. These renovations are not just about decoration but also involve aisle design, category layout, and experience optimization, aiming to "let customers better enjoy the fun of shopping".

As for the Walmart App, it is a digital extension of this physical network, allowing products and services to break through the limitations of physical distance.

The co - branded store with Xiaohongshu can be seen as a concentrated test of this omni - channel ability.

On the one hand, Walmart translates the trends identified on online platforms, such as young people's desire to discover high - quality products, preference for high - value packaging, and ambivalence towards healthy snacks, into tangible and experiential offline scenarios.

On the other hand, the eight "Interest Islands" scenographic displays explored in the cooperation verify another thing: If the physical space is well - utilized, it can combine the efficiency of online "planting the grass" (generating interest) with the real - life experience of offline shopping, creating new consumption paths. This innovation is always based on Walmart's existing transformation framework, meaning that regardless of channel changes, the core is always to serve the defined customer group well.

Since the start of the transformation, Walmart's omni - channel combination is showing results. Community stores have entered a stage of rapid replication, with positive growth in customer flow and sales. The large - store renovation plan is progressing steadily, and the App continues to bring new growth to the business. They are not simply "channel superpositions" working independently but are jointly weaving a life - service network that better understands "urban middle - class small families" and is closer to their lives.

III. Trust is the Slowest Shortcut

Among all retail elements, building trust is the slowest and most difficult. It cannot be achieved through a single promotional event but may collapse completely due to a negative experience. In Walmart's transformation, the least obvious but perhaps the most fundamental part is the systematic reconstruction of the trust system.

Zhu Jun mentioned in an interview that the Walmart team has a mechanism to specifically track consumers' feedback on various platforms. While positive reviews are encouraging, they spend more time dealing with negative feedback and neutral "suggestions".

"After our coriander - flavored yogurt was launched, we saw a customer on Xiaohongshu leave a message saying, 'I'd like to try it, but 10 bottles are too many. Can you offer single - can packaging?' " Zhu Jun shared. "Our team immediately took note and included it in the subsequent product improvement plan."

The formal cooperation with Xiaohongshu also deepened this trust - building process. The vast amount of real user notes and feedback on the platform became a valuable resource for Walmart to understand needs, verify products, and improve services. "It makes us feel that customers are right beside us, having a direct conversation with us," said Zhu Jun.

This "being heard" experience is the best catalyst for trust. When consumers find that their voices can be heard and even change the products on the shelves, a relationship beyond transactions begins to form.

For today's retailers, how to maintain a unique competitive advantage in the changing market has become an almost common question.

There is no simple answer. But Walmart's practice at least proves that in the era of e - commerce impact and consumption differentiation, traditional retail giants are not doomed to passive defense. Through strategic focus, channel reshaping, and trust reconstruction, they can find new growth opportunities.

The most profound inspiration that Walmart's transformation brings to the industry is that it is no longer a heroic story of "disruption" but shows a path of sensitive innovation and proactive change through in - depth exploration. When a company does not chase after trends but returns to the essence of retail, systematically listens to customers, and continuously builds product strength, experience, and trust around them, regardless of external changes, it has earned the right to participate in the next stage of competition.

Systematic change takes time to prove its effectiveness, but Walmart's direction is clear. It is learning a new language, not the industry jargon of procurement and supply chain, but a simple conversation about the daily needs of ordinary people. The ultimate judge of this conversation is every ordinary person who enters the store and votes with their shopping carts. Perhaps the value lies in making retail more closely related to people.

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