Walmart and Google Join Forces In Online Fight Against Amazon
Amazon is continuing to grow as a leading player in the technology industry, as it is known for its fast shipping and wide variety of products sold online. Its innovation and commitment to its customers are what sets it apart from many other eCommerce companies.
Google recently announced a partnership with Walmart, providing Walmart with the platform to offer its products online through Google express, in order to compete with Amazon in the realm of eCommerce. This way customers will be able to shop for Walmart products on Google express. Additionally, Walmart customers will also be able to link their Walmart and Google accounts to receive personalized shopping results based on their online and in-store purchases. Orders will also be able to be placed by saying it out loud using the Google Assistant app or the voice-activated speaker Google Home. In this “war” between Walmart and Amazon, Walmart is working towards establishing a greater online presence, while Amazon is intending to capture a larger portion of Walmart’s lower-income customer base. This partnership also aims to help Google’s product Google Express, which has failed to gain popularity ever since its launch.
This situation between Google, Walmart, and Amazon is relevant to the positive/negative relationship discussions in class, as this is a demonstration of the Structural Balance Theory in real life. These three companies resemble a balanced structure in real life. Amazon and Google share a negative relationship; Amazon and Walmart also share a negative relationship; Google and Walmart share a positive relationship (as shown in the image below). Google and Walmart share a common enemy of Amazon so it is logical for them to partner together in order to try to compete against Amazon. Through combining the strengths and resources of Google and Walmart, these two companies hope to offer customers a better alternative to Amazon. However, I believe that due to Amazon’s loyal customer base and long-established reputation, it would be difficult for these two other tech giants to compete against Amazon.
