Walmart’s online expansion is further ahead

Article Excerpt

The shift to online shopping has spurred traditional “brick-and-mortar” retailers to aggressively expand their own e-commerce websites. They—including the three we analyze below—feel letting customers place online orders and pick up their purchases in store gives them an edge over pure Internet sellers like Amazon.com. We feel Walmart is in the strongest position to withstand the shift to Internet shopping, as it sells food and other items that encourage frequent repeat visits. The company is also building up its own online business. Macy’s and Nordstrom are doing the same, however their focus on apparel makes them more vulnerable to online competition. WALMART INC. $112 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.85 billion; Market cap: $319.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart.com) is the world’s biggest retailer, with 11,300 outlets in 28 countries. To better compete with Amazon.com and other online sellers, Walmart is now spending $800 million to expand one-day delivery for about 200,000…