From the desk of: Fuad Altam 9:47am 09-14-2025

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If there’s one clear pattern shaping retail in 2025, it’s that businesses are doubling down on strategies that strengthen loyalty, eliminate friction and accelerate the flywheel effect.

For Amazon, that means technology. For Walmart, that increasingly means people.

The Amazon Advantage

Matching Amazon on speed, scale and ecosystem integration has never been easy—and today, it’s harder than ever. With its roots in technology and a diversified empire spanning logistics, media, cloud and devices, Amazon sits at the crossroads of digital and global commerce.

According to PYMNTS Intelligence’s September report, “Share of Wallet: Amazon vs. Walmart,” Amazon’s grip on consumers is tightening in categories that once defined Walmart’s dominance. Prime has reconditioned shoppers to expect fast shipping, effortless returns and nearly limitless choice—not just in online shopping, but across all retail experiences.

Walmart is investing to close that gap, but it still trails Amazon in digital user experience, product discovery and speed of delivery outside its grocery stronghold.

That said, Amazon isn’t untouchable. Walmart continues to hold advantages in grocery, pricing power and physical footprint. Both companies remain aggressive, with little interest in standing still.

Amazon’s Expanding Tech Playbook

Amazon’s momentum rests on its ability to convert small shopper preferences into long-term habits. Its logistics engine, marketplace model and Prime ecosystem all reinforce one another, driving higher discretionary and habitual spending.

Recent moves highlight its push into new frontiers:

• Augmented Reality Glasses: Consumer models are expected in late 2026 or early 2027, complete with display, audio and camera. A driver version is also in development to boost delivery efficiency.
• Cybersecurity for SMBs: Through a partnership with CrowdStrike, Amazon is offering Business Prime members enhanced protection against ransomware at no added cost—a retention tool wrapped as a trust feature.

With Amazon already leading the shift to digital channels, its next ambition is clear: collapse the space between intent and fulfillment in a way that feels seamless and secure.

Walmart’s Counter Strategy

Where Amazon builds outward through technology, Walmart is strengthening inward—layering AI across operations and doubling down on its workforce.

Walmart’s enduring strengths—scale, grocery, brand recognition and pricing power—remain intact. But the challenge is reducing friction across its physical-first network. Recent initiatives underscore this effort:

• AI Managers at Sam’s Club: Beyond back-office pilots, AI tools are now on the sales floor, helping managers forecast demand, optimize staffing and identify local suppliers.
• AI Training for Employees: Starting in 2026, Walmart Academy will provide frontline and corporate staff with customized OpenAI Certification, signaling a future where AI fluency is part of everyday retail work.
• Geographic Expansion: Walmart’s entry into South Africa shows it still sees growth potential in physical markets outside the U.S.

Unlike Amazon’s strategy of making commerce almost invisible, Walmart’s approach emphasizes making the enterprise itself feel smarter—through associates, tools and stores working in concert.

A New Retail Order

The rivalry between Amazon and Walmart is less about distant competitors and more about defining what retail itself looks like in the next decade.

Amazon is racing ahead by embedding technology into every interaction. Walmart is betting that smarter stores and empowered employees can preserve and grow its relevance.

The numbers suggest Amazon is accelerating while Walmart holds steady. But in a digital-first environment, “steady” risks looking like erosion. The retail order of tomorrow won’t just be about low prices or large footprints—it will be about who best removes friction, builds trust and compresses time for both shoppers and employees.

And on that front, Amazon and Walmart are rewriting the rules in real time.

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