Walmart’s U.S. Sales Slow While E-commerce Grows 24%

Walmart’s latest results have raised questions about the strength of the U.S. consumer. However, behind the slowdown is another important retail story: shoppers may be spending more carefully, but their shift toward e-commerce continues.

Walmart reported that U.S. comparable sales increased 2.6% in its second quarter, the weakest growth in six years and below market expectations. The results prompted a sharp reaction from investors, with Walmart shares falling by around 9% following the announcement.

Yet Walmart’s digital business told a very different story.

U.S. e-commerce sales increased 24%, while e-commerce grew 23% globally. Walmart Marketplace sales rose 52%, and store-fulfilled delivery increased by approximately 43%.

The contrast offers an interesting picture of where retail is heading.

Consumers Are Spending More Carefully

Walmart is often watched as an indicator of U.S. consumer health because of the enormous range of households and product categories it serves.

This quarter provided some warning signs.

U.S. comparable sales growth slowed from 4.1% in the previous quarter to 2.6%. Part of the decline came from pharmacy deflation related to new drug-pricing regulation, which Walmart said created a significant headwind. However, executives also pointed to pressure from higher fuel costs and cautious consumer behavior.

Customers are still shopping. Transactions increased 1.5%, while the average ticket rose only 1.1%. Walmart also continued gaining market share across income groups, particularly among higher-income households.

This suggests a consumer who has not stopped spending but is becoming increasingly selective about where and how money is spent.

E-commerce Keeps Growing Through the Slowdown

Against this backdrop, Walmart’s e-commerce performance stands out.

Digital sales in the U.S. grew almost ten times faster than comparable sales overall. Moreover, e-commerce contributed around 5.1 percentage points to Walmart U.S. comparable sales during the quarter.

Convenience appears to be an important part of that growth.

Walmart has increasingly turned its physical store network into e-commerce infrastructure. Stores now function not only as places to shop but also as local fulfillment points for online orders.

Expedited deliveries that took less than three hours accounted for approximately 37% of store-fulfilled orders during the quarter. This combination of physical proximity and digital ordering gives Walmart an advantage that purely online retailers cannot easily replicate.

Consequently, the distinction between “online” and “offline” retail becomes less useful. A customer may place an order digitally, while the product travels only a few kilometers from a nearby store.

Marketplace Growth Adds Another Dimension

Walmart’s Marketplace provides another indication of how its e-commerce model is changing.

Marketplace sales grew 52% in the U.S. during the quarter. Instead of relying exclusively on products Walmart purchases and stocks itself, the marketplace allows third-party sellers to expand the assortment available through Walmart’s digital channels.

However, larger digital assortments also make product information more important. When millions of products from different sellers appear within the same environment, customers need consistent titles, specifications, images, descriptions, and identifiers to understand and compare them.

The same applies to search and AI-powered product discovery. Algorithms can only match shoppers with relevant products when the underlying catalog provides sufficient information about what those products actually are.

For brands and retailers in the Icecat network, this is one reason structured product content becomes increasingly important as marketplaces expand.

Retail Growth Is Becoming More Digital, Even When Consumers Slow Down

Walmart’s quarter should not be interpreted as evidence that physical retail is disappearing. In fact, Walmart’s stores are becoming increasingly important to its digital strategy.

Instead, the results illustrate how the store’s role is changing.

A store can simultaneously be a shopping destination, pickup location, inventory hub, and last-mile fulfillment center. E-commerce becomes another layer of the same retail infrastructure rather than a separate business.

That matters especially when consumer spending becomes more cautious. Shoppers may compare more products, search harder for value, and expect convenient fulfillment before making a purchase.

Walmart is responding with price investments, faster delivery, a growing marketplace, membership services and advertising alongside its traditional retail business. The company also raised its full-year sales outlook despite the weaker-than-expected U.S. comparable sales figure.

The quarter therefore contains two signals at once.

The U.S. consumer may be becoming more cautious. But digital commerce is not slowing at the same pace.

For e-commerce businesses, that distinction matters. In a more selective market, simply having products available online is not enough. Retailers need broad assortments, efficient fulfillment, and product information that helps customers quickly understand why one item is the right choice over another.

Walmart’s results suggest that even when overall retail growth becomes harder to find, the shift in how consumers shop can continue moving quickly.