Walmart’s e-commerce future in China hangs in the balance after announcing the sale of its JD.com stake

Chinese e-commerce company JD.com announced that US retailer Walmart is selling its $3.74 billion (€3.37 billion) stake in the company. This move could increase Walmart’s presence in the growing Chinese e-commerce space.

After backup Record performance in e-commerce grocery in the US in the second quarter of 2024, Walmart aims to expand its domestic business in China, Reuters reportedinstead of investing in other companies in the country.

“This decision allows us to focus on our strong China businesses for Walmart China and Sam’s Club and deploy capital to other priorities,” Walmart said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Walmart added that it is interested in a continued business relationship with JD.com and wants to increase online grocery sales of its own brands. However, the company will struggle to gain a foothold in the e-commerce business in China because other brands in this space have been online for much longer, have better infrastructure and better understand the nuances of Chinese shopping behavior. Fashion Network reported.

“It will be very difficult for Walmart to catch up in e-commerce,” Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China, told Fashion Network.

Walmart has a 1.6 percent share of the total Chinese online market, compared to 37 percent for U.S. e-commerce, according to Euromonitor International. This Chinese total is far behind Alibaba, which has a market share of nearly 47 percent, and JD.com, which has a market share of 20 percent.

According to Fashion Network, Alibaba has 14,000 pickup stations for groceries and other products in China’s rural areas alone, and JD.com has nearly 6,000 delivery and pickup stations in nearly 2,500 counties and districts across China.

In addition, Yihaodian, which Walmart sold to JD.com in 2016, owns 250 centers offering fast grocery delivery and operates in 200 Chinese cities.