American retail firm Walmart has announced a new partnership with Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba in order to improve growth and sales within China.
The partnership will involve Alibaba’s mobile payment arm Alipay. Walmart’s stores in the metropolis of Shenzhen will be able to pay for goods using Alipay Wallet.
The branches will be provided with scanners that can read barcodes on the smartphone, allowing a transaction to be completed in seconds.
Although Walmart reported a decline in its China sales for the fourth quarter of 2014, it plans to expand its operations in the country. The company stated last month it intends to open another 115 stores in China by 2017.
This partnership looks like it has been in the pipeline for many months. In February, Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart told investors that the company is “taking the right steps to solidify a foundation for long-term growth.”
Alipay certainly know how to dominate the mobile payment business. Since July 2014, Alipay generated $788 billion in transactions, and had some 190 million active users for its mobile app.
‘‘Alipay will help us serve our customers better by allowing mobile payment in seconds. Increasingly, our customers want convenience,’’ commented Wal-Mart spokeswoman Marilee McInnis.
Whitepapers
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