Wal-Mart Canada targets customers for e-commerce advice

In Canada, Wal-Mart is taking its e-commerce research directly to customers with the posting of a survey at its Walmart.ca site regarding online shopping preferences. The survey can be filled out by clicking on a banner that says "Help us build a better site." It asks the reasons shoppers go to a retailer's website, the top reasons for purchasing or not purchasing online, and what attributes are most important for a website to have, among other things. "In order to understand what Canadians expect from a Wal-Mart e-commerce website, we are engaged in several forms of research," said Andrew Pelletier, Wal-Mart Canada's Vice-President of Corporate Affairs. Pelletier said the survey and other research will help define the categories the retailer should present, the volume of information users prefer, and expected website functionality (multiple product views, one-click checkout). The company aims to find the right balance between information and functionality, as it believes visitors could feel overwhelmed by having too many "bells and whistles. But we are still some days away from drawing firm conclusions," he said. Wal-Mart Canada does not offer an online sales channel and is virtually the only major retailer in the country not to offer online sales.

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