Walmart Accelerates Efforts to Attract New Customers and Younger Generations amid Concerns over Tariff Impact on Consumer Spending Fer House

As tariffs continue to drive up prices, Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, has unveiled a series of new initiatives aimed at attracting more new customers and younger generation consumers. These initiatives include launching new advertising campaigns, clothing brands for teenagers, and expanding drone delivery services to more cities.

Last week, Walmart held an "Employee Week" event in Bentonville, Arkansas, its headquarters, and the neighboring city of Fayetteville. During the event, the company's executives introduced relevant strategies to thousands of hourly workers, store managers, investors, and media reporters. This event served as both an employee recognition and a dynamic mobilization meeting, held alongside Walmart's annual general meeting of shareholders and culminating in surprise appearances by celebrities and musical performances.

Despite the enthusiastic atmosphere at the event, economic conditions outside Arkansas still cast a shadow. Against the backdrop of the entire retail industry being by tariffs, general price increases, and concerns about economic growth, Walmart remains firm in its belief that its "high-cost performance positioning" among various income groups can continue to attract consumers, including wealthier families. The new plan announced this time is precisely aimed at further expanding market share.

John David Rainey, Chief Financial Officer of Walmart, told the media that although tariffs have had an impact, consumers' spending patterns have not fundamentally changed, still mainly focusing on food products, which has compressed spending on non-essential items such as clothing and toys.

"We have seen consumers' spending on food continue to rise over the past one to two years, which has led to a reduction in their budgets for general merchandise," he said.

Rainey added, "We still see consumers under financial pressure. Although year-on-year inflation data is no longer as high as it was 18 months ago, prices remain high."

Rainey had warned last month that Walmart might be forced to raise prices due to tariffs. This statement was criticized by former U.S. President Trump on social media, who called on Walmart to "absorb the tariffs themselves."

However, Doug McMillon, Chief Executive Officer of Walmart, still insists on the decision to publicly announce price increases.

"We just want to do our job as retailers well. When the first-quarter earnings report was released, we felt it was our responsibility to truthfully convey what we saw, which is also responsible to shareholders," he said.

McMillon refused to disclose which specific categories or products had price increases, only saying that Walmart is "making every effort to alleviate the pressure of import costs." He pointed out that about two-thirds of the goods sold by Walmart in the United States are produced, grown, or assembled domestically.

Food is the main sales force of Walmart in the United States, and food generally has low profit margins. McMillon said that expanding into higher-margin categories such as clothing and home decor helps hedge against cost pressures or price increases caused by tariffs.

In the current context where trade tensions are affecting consumer confidence, Walmart hopes to attract consumers who still have an "outdated impression" of the brand through new investment projects.

These initiatives include planning to expand drone delivery services to 100 stores in three states through drone operator Wing within the next year. The service has currently been launched in parts of northwest Arkansas and Dallas-Fort Worth.

In addition, starting from early July, Walmart will launch a new private clothing brand called "Weekend Academy". Designed specifically for "tween" boys and girls aged 8-12, the first batch will launch 65 clothing, footwear, and accessory items, with the vast majority of products priced below $15.

Gypsy Jo Diessner, Vice President of Children's Fashion for Walmart U.S. Market, said the brand will be available in time for the back-to-school season, targeting the trendy but underserved "post-Generation Z" young customer group.

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