Walmart(US:WMT) 经济观察报·2026-02-09 11:15Core Insights - Walmart's transformation is not a single-channel or product breakthrough, but a comprehensive upgrade achieved through systematic engineering around the core demands of urban middle-class families, involving channel adjustments, product development, and ecological cooperation [1][19]. Group 1: Partnership and Store Innovations - Recently, Walmart partnered with Xiaohongshu to launch the "Mashi" series of new stores, opening two locations in Shenzhen within a month, focusing on community scenarios and offering over 2,000 selected products for daily meals [2]. - The first "Mashi Community Store" in Shenzhen's Futian District continues the core model of Walmart's community stores, emphasizing a shopping experience that integrates online and offline channels to create a consumption loop from "discovery to experience to purchase" [2][4]. Group 2: Market Trends and Consumer Needs - According to Nielsen's report, the Chinese retail market is entering a critical restructuring phase, where growth will depend on the ability to meet consumers' "relevant" product and emotional needs rather than just foot traffic or price subsidies [4]. - Walmart's strategy of "customer first" aligns with this trend, leading to deep transformations in product offerings and shopping experiences to meet the evolving demands of consumers [4]. Group 3: Channel Strategy and Community Stores - Walmart's community stores, typically around 500 square meters, are strategically located within a 10-minute walking radius of residential areas to cater to the daily meal needs of local residents [7][10]. - The company has invested nearly a year in testing and refining the key dimensions of community store locations, sizes, and product selections to create a "10-minute walking life circle" for customers [10][11]. Group 4: Product Differentiation and Brand Strategy - Walmart's private label "Wojixian" focuses on providing differentiated value through its brand philosophy of "simple and fresh," emphasizing simple ingredients, fresh raw materials, and a clean ingredient list to meet the health-conscious demands of urban middle-class families [15][16]. - The brand has launched over a thousand new products in the past year, gaining widespread consumer recognition, and aims to reduce decision-making costs for consumers by ensuring high-quality standards throughout its supply chain [16][19]. Group 5: Consumer-Centric Transformation - The transformation of Walmart highlights a shift in retail industry competitiveness from scale and price advantages to value and experience, while still recognizing the importance of price in rational consumer behavior [19]. - The key takeaway from Walmart's transformation is the necessity of centering all efforts around consumer needs, indicating that transformation should not discard past advantages but rather reshape and upgrade them in line with consumer demands [19].