Given Walmart’s massive scale, it’s easier for it to save big money by making little changes that have an impact.

After unsettling investors last quarter with a muted outlook for fiscal 2019, Dollar General's (NYSE: DG) first-quarter results released Thursday indicated that the current year may yet hold promise.Let's sift through the most important details of the quarter below, and also review management's outlook for the remainder of the year. Note that all comparative numbers in this article are presented against the prior-year quarter.

While Amazon still holds the sway when it comes to digital marketing, Walmart is gradually closing its gap with the e-commerce giant. The first quarter of 2019 witnessed Walmart’s comparable same-store sales growth of 3.4%, the best in 9 years, and a grand total of $80.3 billion in net revenue out of which the e-commerce segment accounted for 1.4%.The company revealed that e-commerce sales grew 37% compared to the year ago. In comparison, Amazon’s online sales stores increased by 10% to $29.5 billion, and physical stores were up a meager 1% to $4.3 billion after plunging 3% in Q4. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce grew 10.4% during the first four months of 2019.

The retail behemoth also reiterated its guidance for the full-year. Adjusted earnings for the three months ending in April came in at $1.53 per share, which represents a +15% surge from the same period last year and is higher than analysts’ estimates of $1.43 per share (based on Refinitiv data). Total revenue increased just under +1% to $17.63 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates of $17.52 billion.Online sales now account for 7.1% of Target’s retail sales, up from 5.2% a year ago. For full fiscal year 2020 (ending in early January), Target expects low to mid-single digit growth for same store sales.

Target’s CEO thinks the retail industry is shaking out to show clear winners and losers. 

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is the world's biggest company by revenue and the largest private employer on the globe.When it talks, especially about the global economy, investors and other interested parties tend to take note of what's said. 

The company may soon go public to strengthen long-term successes. However, preparations of floatation may take years before coming to fruition, so in the meantime the company must ensure that the UK chain receives adequate resources to realize its full potential. Meanwhile, the U.S retailer has instructed Asda to focus on improving its operations, including the implementation of £80 million of price cuts to take on rivals such as Aldi and Lidl.However, Asda itself is faced by greater challenges such as the threat of Amazon. Analysts believe that contemplations of IPO could mean that the U.S. retailer is struggling to find a plan B for its UK business, especially after its merger attempt with Sainsbury failed. But analysts also believe that these supermarkets need to sharpen their prices in the face of rapidly expanding low cost players like Aldi and Lidl.

Walmart’s first quarter earnings surpassed analysts’ expectations, amidst strong same-store sales in the U.S. coupled with the retail giant ‘s burgeoning online business. The company’s earnings per share of $1.13 edged past analysts’ estimates of $1.02. It is the fastest first quarter growth for the company’s comparable store sales in 9 years. On the back of solid growth in its online grocery business and strong sales in its home and fashion segments, Walmart experienced a +37% year-over-year growth in its U.S. e-commerce sales in the first quarter. Walmart only seems to be getting more and more relentless in its e-commerce expansion goals.

Walmart will begin offering next-day delivery on its most popular items. The nation's largest retailer said it's been building a network of more efficient e-commerce distribution centers to make that happen.The next-day service will cover 220,000 popular items from diapers and non-perishable food items to toys and electronics.  Next-day delivery, which will require a minimum order of $35, will be available in Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Walmart is raising the minimum age to buy tobacco products and e-cigarettes at its U.S. stores to 21, amid pressure from regulators to cut tobacco sales and use among minors. The world’s largest retailer also said it will also stop selling fruit and dessert flavored e-cigarettes, which critics say can hook teenagers on vaping. The new rules will take effect in July at all its 5,300 U.S. stores, including its Sam’s Club warehouse locations.Previously, Walmart’s minimum purchase age was 18, aside from a number of states where the legal age is 21.

The world’s biggest retailer, Walmart, is all set to open its first online pet pharmacy along with the opening of dozens more veterinary clinics in its stores, as it hopes to tap on the growing pet market and lure more U.S. pet owners who are spending billions of dollars each year on their dogs and cats. Walmart is expected to open more than 80 veterinary clinics in its stores on top of its already existing 21 clinics across six states.In these stores, pets can receive vaccines, care for minor illnesses and other routine exams. Additionally, Walmart would offer low-cost prescriptions through its online pharmacy called WalmartPetRX.com for pets to rival the top pet e-commerce business Chewy.com. Analysts have figured a rough 60% rise in the number of pet related items sold on its website last year.

Grocery giant Walmart is all set to launch its first subscription business, but for kid’s apparel. Walmart announced on Thursday that it is partnering with Kidbox, a subscription-box company akin to Stitch Fix but focused solely on selling clothes for babies, girls and boys. Moving forward, Kidbox will be responsible for curating as many as six different boxes each year on Walmart.com.Kidbox will curate based on a quiz before placing the order. The move is not unprecedented as Walmart has already partnered with Lord & Taylor adding premium brands to its website.

Physical clothing, electronics, and home furnishing stores are taking a hit as online penetration led by the e-commerce giant Amazon proliferate in their sales. According to the estimates provided by UBS online sales growth is likely to rise to 25% by 2026 from 16% today, and this will lead to closures of roughly 75,000 physical stores, excluding restaurants. In a note to its clients this week, the investment firm said “store rationalization needs to accelerate meaningfully as online penetration continues to rise.” The estimate implies that for every 1% increase in online penetration, roughly 8,000 to 8,500 stores need to close.Additionally, 7,000 grocery stores may also close if online grocery penetration rises to 10%, from 2%, by 2026. In 2019, already over 5,000 store closures have been declared by retailers like Gap, Victoria’s

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is shuttering at least 11 U.S. stores across eight states, according to Business Insider, which said the closing date for most of the affected outlets is April 19. Read More...

Pinterest has hired Walmart CTO Jeremy King as its head of engineering ahead of the company’s upcoming IPO. Read More...

The pace of retail store closure announcements didn’t slow down much this week, following a brutal last week for malls and shopping centers across the U.S. Read More...

Minneapolis-based retailer, Target, delivered estimate-beating earnings during the critical holiday period or the fiscal fourth quarter, resulting its shares surging by 4% on Tuesday.The retailer’s in-house brands and easy delivery options are factors that helped the company drive sales and helped it achieve considerable same-store sales growth. The company’s adjusted EPS for the quarter stood at $1.53 versus an estimate of $1.52; revenue came at $22.98 billion versus an estimate of $22.96 billion; and same store sales growth rose by 5.3% versus an expected 5.1%. On an unadjusted basis, net income fell 26.5% to $799 million or $1.52 a share, compared to $1.1 billion, or $1.99 a share, the period the previous year.

Target Corp. reported higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, on the back of strong same-store sales growth and a successful holiday season. The retail giant’s earnings-per-share for the three months ending on February 2 increased +11.7% year-over-year to $1.53, beating analysts’ estimates by a penny (based on The Street consensus forecast).Same store sales for the two months ending in December increased +5.7%, which was a faster pace compared to 3.4% of the same period last year. For the full year 2019, Target is forecasts earnings in the range of $5.75 to $6.05 per share, which is above the consensus estimate of $5.61 per share.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is growing online sales faster than any other major competitor in the United States.By comparison, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), the market leader, grew its revenue from online sales in North America at about half that rate. Read More...

Walmart published an impressive FY19 fourth quarter earnings report, recording revenue growth of over 3.1% on a y-o-y basis. The company’s comparable-store sales recorded an impressive 4.2% growth rate on a y-o-y basis – an acceleration from the 3.4% growth achieved in Q3.This is good news for Walmart as it suggests greater growth in its online sales than Target, although not on an exact quarter to quarter comparison. Other peers like Costco’s (COST) e-commerce sales recorded 28% y-o-y growth, while Amazon's (AMZN) revenue from online stores recorded only 14% y-o-y increase in the fourth quarter. In short, Walmart is looking good in its e-commerce segment and time will reveal how well it can beat competition from Target, Costco and Amazon.