Why Walmart Will Add EV Charging Stations to Its Stores

Why Walmart Will Add EV Charging Stations to Its Stores

According to S&P Global Mobility, by 2030, more than one in every four new passenger cars will be electric. The research firm estimates that the "tipping point" for EV adoption will occur as early as 2026, when Americans will feel more at ease with the technology and the charging infrastructure that will support them.

Read: Why is GM launching a New Business Unit to Connect EV chargers to Homes and Businesses

Walmart has examined the data and concluded that more charging stations would be beneficial not only to the environment, but also to business. As a result, the nation's largest retail giant recently stated that it will install more charging stations to its 4,635 Walmart and Sam's Club locations.

"By 2030, we intend to build our own EV fast-charging network at thousands of Walmart and Sam's Club locations coast-to-coast," said Vishal Kapadia, Senior Vice President, Energy Transformation. "This would be in addition to the almost 1,300 EV fast-charging stations we already have available at more than 280 U.S. facilities."

Walmart has joined the ranks of other major corporations in expediting their entry into the charging game. Taco Bell announced the addition of charging stations to their locations in October of last year. EV charging efforts have also been undertaken by Starbucks, 7-Eleven, Target, Pilot Flying J, and Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores.

"With a store or club located within 10 miles of approximately 90% of Americans, we are uniquely positioned to deliver a convenient charging option that will help make EV ownership possible whether people live in rural, suburban, or urban areas," said Kapadia.

When that moment comes, Walmart wants to be ready.

Read More

Walmart Bests Amazon as the Top Retail Firm of 2022

Walmart Bests Amazon as the Top Retail Firm of 2022

What is a Retail Business?

Businesses that sell products or services to consumers are known as retail businesses. Retail businesses traditionally offer their goods and services through physical locations, whether those locations be department stores, warehouses, supermarkets, or other types of outlets. Consumer expenditure, which makes up nearly two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States, includes retail sales volume.

To stay competitive and relevant, majority of the retailers also offer their products through e-Commerce websites, online markets and mobile apps.

Methodology Used for Ranking?

Leveraging data from YCharts.com, below are the top 5 retail firms based on trailing 12 month (TTM) revenue are shown below. Only businesses that trade publicly in the United States or Canada, directly or via ADRs, are included on this list.

5 - JD.com Inc. (JD)

• Revenue (TTM): $156.9 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $254 million
• Market Cap: $91 .0billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -18.9%
• Exchange: NASDAQ

4 - The Home Depot Inc. (HD)

• Revenue (TTM): $157.3 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $17.1 billion
• Market Cap: $325.5 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -16.2%
• Exchange: NYSE

3 - Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST)

• Revenue (TTM): $231.0billion
• Net Income (TTM): $5.9 billion
• Market Cap: $205.1 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -14.7%
• Exchange: NASDAQ

2 - Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

• Revenue (TTM): $502.2 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $11.3 billion
• Market Cap: $885.2 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: -49.1%
• Exchange: NASDAQ

1 - Walmart Inc. (WMT)

• Revenue (TTM): $600.1 billion
• Net Income (TTM): $9.0 billion
• Market Cap: $391.5 billion
• 1-Year Trailing Total Return: 5.6%
• Exchange: New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

Read More

Major Retailers Are Letting Customers Keep What They Bought, Even After Issuing Refunds

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), in a recent reported that major retailers are letting customers keep their unwanted returns, even after processing their refunds.

This sound very counterintuitive - doesn't it.

---

Ads help us serve our growing community.

---

What led to this?

Rick Faulk, the CEO of Locus Robotics, shared with WSJ that the biggest expense associated with processing returns is the cost of shipping. "Returning to a store is significantly cheaper because the retailer can save the freight, which can run 15% to 20% of the cost," he said.

Over the course of the pandemic, supply chain and logistics issues have been amplified across the globe. According to the return-processing firm Narvar, online returns leaped by 70% in 2020, WSJ has reported.

How are retailers managing this?

The major retailers eluded to earlier include giants like Walmart, Amazon and Target. Beyond the cost of shipping, there are other variables taken into consideration. Retailers also evaluate the reselling probability of the product and if it's unlikely to be resold, along with cost of processing being equal to or greater than the cost of the product itself, then retailers simply don't see value in getting the product back.

Whilst this may be assumed as a loophole by consumers, this in most cases is not applicable to high-end items such as electronics, premium goods...etc.

A happy customer is a returning customer...

As we've previously shared, there are new types of businesses forming around circular retail economy - such as Trove. On the other hand, consumers enjoy keeping an item they don't have to pay for, regardless if they utilize it or not. Actions like these also bring brand equity and will more than likely endue network effects.

Read More

Hospitals And Retailers Are Battling For Same Resources, As The Labor Shortage Continues

 

Even before the pandemic, doctors and nurses have always been in high demand. The new variant (Omicron), coupled with The Great Resignation, has only made that shortage worse. As a result some health-care workers, overwhelmed by two years fighting the virus and the system, opt for different options. Some have decided to retire, whilst others are trading positions for lucrative short-term assignments, at premium pay, driving up labor costs. 

According to a December survey by staffing company AMN Healthcare, three out of four health-care facilities were looking for temporary allied health professionals, a category that includes clinical workers who aren’t doctors, nurses or advanced practitioner.

---

Ads help us serve our growing community.

---

A view from Nebraska:

Nebraska had the lowest unemployment of 1.8% in November of 2021. Troy Bruntz, who runs a 25-bed critical access facility in McCook, Nebraska, had been trying to recruit a third ultrasound technician for at least six months, without getting a single application. For lower-level positions, the hospital competes with the local Walmart store, where wages are rising.

“What used to be an $8 job now is $15,” said Bruntz, a 52-year-old who once worked as an accountant for KPMG. “That’s the only way we get people to come to work.”

He believes this trend will persist in the long-term, particularly in rural areas with aging populations. “We’re going to have so many more people retiring than entering the workforce that this is just going to get worse,” Bruntz said.

Mike Hansen, chief executive of Columbus Community Hospital, said hourly entry-level wages are now in the $15-$18 range. Nursing wages start at $35-$40/hours and keep rising with experience.

Hansen, 61, calls the pandemic labor squeeze the worst he has encountered through out his own career. “People need to realize, health-care people have been at this for almost two years now,” he said. “It’s been highly stressful.”

A view from Indiana:

“This is the most significant labor shortage that we have ever seen,” said Sally Zuel, VP of Human Resources at Union Health in Terre Haute, Indiana. The health system, with about 3,000 employees, had to scramble and decided to move nurses from support positions into direct patient care. 

The current COVID surge in the area isn’t expected to subside in the near term. The volume of patients means staffing will remain tight. “​​We need every person every day,” Zuel said.

What trends healthcare industry need to address?

Mercer’s “2021 External Healthcare Labor Market Analysis”, has identified four key trends impacting the US healthcare labor market over the next 5-10 year horizon, and reveals how the healthcare industry needs to adapt to address future labor shortages. These trends are:

1. There will be a shortage of healthcare workers at the low-end of the wage spectrum, which will directly impact access to home care
2. Primary care will increasingly be provided by non-physicians
3. There will be significant shortages of nurses in over half of US states, but surplus in some areas of the South and Southwest
4. A hiring rush for mental health providers will emerge by 2026

John Derse, Healthcare Industry Leader at Mercer, in the report suggests that: 

“While hospitals and healthcare systems cannot control what’s happening in the external labor market, effective workforce planning and managing internal workforces can help mitigate their exposure to these risks. Workforce strategies that will position an employer for long-term success should focus on transforming care models, rethink compensation and benefits, and introduce more flexibility into staffing, development and rewards,” added Derse. “Prior to the pandemic, the shortages were driven by a healthcare population that was trending older, sicker and more sedentary. Employers should not wait to transform their retention models to accommodate for all demographics in their workforce impacted by the pandemic, particularly ageing skilled professionals considering early retirement.”

Read More

The next trillion dollar opportunity for startup capture; Instant Pay

 What’s the first, real-world, lesson taught in any business centric class - fix a problem (opportunity) that someone is willing to pay for. Now, identifying the problem or equally important finding a solution that has differentiated value, is usually not easily surmountable. The reason for this quick level set is to talk about a potentially Trillion dollar opportunity.

---

Ads help us serve our growing community.

---

Problem statement: 

In the US, there are more payday loan providers than McDonalds. Good for payday loan providers, but bad for people. A survey report has reported that 42% of full-time workers are unable to meet their monthly obligations of household expenses. This state of affairs is tied to antiquated ways how employees get paid at a pre-defined cadence, say bi-weekly. According to EY estimates, almost a trillion dollars is tied up in payroll systems and 70% of global workers are paid either bi-weekly or paid monthly.

An opportunity on the horizon? 

EY estimates an employee turnover of 20%, related to financial stress. A study by Harris poll has found that 80% of the workers in the US would like to get money in their accounts as earned. Furthermore, it was also identified that with Gen-Z becoming the largest group by 2026, immediate access to capital, as part of earned wages, will become a key differentiator to stay with a firm. 

Whilst most large firms may or may not be aware of this, several On-Demand pay apps are starting to address this gap.

On-Demand Pay in Motion:

Even, FlexWage, PayActiv, Instant Financial are some of the on-demand pay apps available that are addressing the need for On-Demand. 

Walmart’s 20% workforce is leveraging the Even app, to avoid payday loans. Walmart covers the cost of using the app for both hourly and salaried workers. Employees can access wages early, up to eight times per year for free. After that, they pay $3 per pay period to cover transaction fees and for features that help to set savings goals and create a budget. Whilst this is not On-Demand pay, it’s a step in the right direction.

Sprinkle Cupcakes is partnering with ADP, who in turn is leveraging the DailyPay app to pay employees as they complete a shift. Employees gain access to their pay as early as 3 a.m. the next day.

For budding entrepreneurs, the pandemic, coupled with the great resignation, Instant or On-Demand pay provides a great avenue to launch your next startup.

Read More