Google has teamed up with Wal-Mart in its biggest even retail partnership to challenge Amazon in the online shopping marketplace and combat the proliferation of its Alexa-powered Echo device as a means of facilitating voice shopping.
The move is expected to have a significant impact on the retail supply chain within the United States as well offering customers a whole new way of purchasing goods.
As Forbes analyst Kevin O’Marah puts it: “It signals an acceleration in the shift from store-based retail supply chains to a hyper-personalised, smart consumer supply chain.
“The dynamics of this new supply chain will be brutal for consumer brands accustomed to shelf-centric demand.”
The new partnership marks the first time that world’s largest retailer is offering products outwith its own website in the US. It announced this week that it’s going to offer a huge array of items through Google’s online shopping platform, Google Express, and eventually through its virtual assistant, Google Home.
Wal-Mart is hoping that it can integrate its large network of stores with its digital business thanks to the new partnership.
Read more at Google and Wal-Mart team up to combat Amazon in retail supply chain shake-up
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