Tag Archive for: WalMart

Walmart Unveils Associate App, Giving 740,000 Associates Smartphones

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“We’re proud that Samsung’s innovative technology is playing a key role in enabling Walmart to transform their retail associate experience,” Hamshy Raveendran, head of product management and go to market, Mobile B2B Business, Samsung Electronics Americas, told RIS. “Our Galaxy XCover Pro, combined with Walmart’s all-in-one [email protected] app, will put everything associates need at their fingertips to help them better serve their customers. And outside the store, they’ll have an exceptional device for their personal use. We’re excited to support Walmart as they lead the retail industry in leveraging mobile to empower their frontline employees.”

The devices and app will give Walmart associates access to mobile experiences such as:

  • Push-to-Talk: Associates can instantly connect with one another by using push-to-talk, allowing them to work as a team and quickly react to customers’ needs.
  • Scheduling: The app lets associates view their shifts up to two weeks in advance, check on their upcoming paid time off and request changes to their schedule, if needed.
  • Mobile Clock In: Using geofencing technology, associates can clock in with a tap of a button once they arrive at their store.
  • Ask Sam: A voice-activated personal assistant for work, the Ask Sam feature lets associates ask the app questions to quickly locate merchandise and get answers for customers. Associates can even look up the metrics that drive their business. This feature was previously available to some associates as a separate app, but is now available to all through [email protected] Last year Walmart expanded its capabilities to include details about COVID-19.
  • Personal Security: The Samsung Knox mobile security suite is being used to create the boundaries between personal and work-related information. Walmart will not have access to any associates’ personal data.
  • Knox Services: Walmart will leverage the extensive capabilities found in the Samsung Knox Suite.  This includes tools to help with automated enrollment, firmware management, device and WiFi network analytics, loss prevention and deep device customization. 

In addition, Walmart said it will add another feature to the

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Walmart may launch a video streaming service to battle Netflix, Amazon

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Enlarge (credit: Walmart)

Walmart may be the next giant to enter the video streaming wars, according to a report from The Information. The retailer is reportedly considering launching its own video streaming service to battle Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. But Walmart wants to undercut its competition by pricing its service at $ 8 per month—or lower.

According to the report, the $ 8-per-month price comes from the idea that Netflix and Amazon are more popular with customers on the East and West Coasts. Customers living in the middle of America may gravitate toward a lower-cost option. Currently, Netflix prices its service between $ 8 and $ 14 per month, while Amazon Prime Video is roughly $ 8 per month.

Both services have seen price increases recently as well—Netflix raised the price of its top-tier 4K streaming plan by $ 2 and its mid-tier plan by $ 1 at the end of last year, while an Amazon Prime annual subscription jumped to $ 119 in May (Prime Video is included in a Prime membership).

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Biz & IT – Ars Technica

Walmart hired Lockheed Martin for employee surveillance, allegedly got help from FBI

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It’s not unusual for companies to monitor social media in order to ‘protect’ their brands; Microsoft, for example, makes dossiers on journalists who write about the company. Yet Walmart allegedly “is always watching” and went the extra distance to spy on employees by hiring defense contractor Lockheed Martin and allegedly even received help from the FBI.

Walmart was most interested in gathering surveillance of employees involved with the group OUR Walmart which planned Black Friday protests in 2012. OUR Walmart was advocating for higher wages, predictable schedules, better healthcare coverage, and the right to unionize. Walmart’s surveillance efforts were described in over 1,000 pages of “emails, reports, playbooks, charts, and graphs as well as testimony,” according to Bloomberg Businessweek which reviewed the documents. The testimony, which was given earlier this year to the National Labor Relations Board, claims Walmart hired Lockheed Martin and received help from the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.

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