Walmart Teams With Google's Gemini for AI-Assisted Shopping

Walmart and Google announced on Sunday that consumers will soon be able to use Google’s artificial intelligence assistant Gemini to more easily discover and buy products from the retail giant and its warehouse club, Sam’s Club. Incoming Walmart CEO John Furner and Google CEO Sundar Pichai made the announcement on stage at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York City. Walmart announced a similar deal in October with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to allow shoppers to make purchases with “Instant Checkout," a feature that allows users to purchase an item without leaving the AI chatbot.

Total Retail's Take: Walmart continues to wisely position itself as a leading and innovative digital and omnichannel retail organization, no longer just the traditional brick-and-mortar store chain that it was previously best known for. In this case, Walmart is investing further into the AI realm, an arena where more and more people are going to shop. And when consumers do go to ChatGPT and Gemini for shopping inspiration, Walmart wants to be the brand they encounter.

Walmart figures to benefit from being an early adopter of AI-assisted shopping. Simply put, the retailer is following where the traffic (i.e., shoppers) is going. According to Adobe’s AI Traffic Trends Report, highlighting AI-driven site traffic and sales conversions across industries from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31:

• Retail saw the most significant uptick in AI-driven traffic, up 693 percent year-over-year.
• AI referrals converted 31 percent more than other traffic sources, nearly doubling YoY.
• Consumers increasingly trust AI, spending 45 percent more time on-site and viewing 13 percent more pages per visit, signaling higher intent and agreement with AI-generated results.