Search bar no longer the fastest way to a purchase: Walmart’s Global CTO

Suresh Kumar of Walmart discusses tech-powered adaptive retail, transforming the industry with personalized recommendations and seamless customer experiences.

A search bar is no longer the fastest way to a purchase; instead, people-led and tech-powered adaptive retail, that is centred around why, what and how customers shop, has been redefining the retail industry globally, said Suresh Kumar, Global Chief Technology Officer, Walmart Inc.

“Search bar is appropriate, but search enhanced by Gen AI allows us to narrow a vast online catalog into a handful of recommendations. Machine learning can personalise it based upon customer preferences,” he said while delivering the keynote address at Converge, the U.S.-based retailer’s annual tech conclave here recently.

Modern retailing is about being ready with hyper-specific recommendations, ready to adapt offerings that match needs, and ready to deliver, through tech-powered adaptive retail, he said.

The entire retail industry, including Walmart itself, is in the midst of a complete transformation, with everything from sourcing the supply chain to customer discovery, and purchase and delivery changing rapidly, said Mr. Kumar, who is also executive vice-president and chief development officer at Walmart.

“Retail today looks a whole lot different just from a few years back. We call it adaptive retail, because ultimately, a search bar is no longer the fastest way to a purchase today,” he said.

However, Mr. Kumar stated, the core things that customers want globally, be it a broad selection of items to choose from, best value, quality merchandise, a trustable seller/brand and a safe and enjoyable shopping experience, have always remained the same. “So we must recognise and be able to adapt to the myriad of contexts that define the why and the how our customers shop. We need to make sure that simple, user-friendly technology adapts to their needs in a seamless and a friction-free way,” he added. According to him, keeping a customer in stock with adaptive retail means that the customer homes become an extension of retailers’ supply chain, so that retailers can keep their customers’ homes in stock.

Adaptive retail is the ability of retailers to adapt dynamically to the changing preferences, behaviours and needs of customers with the help of technological interventions, he added.