Will Walmart Reverse the Imminent Eclipse By Amazon? Don't Count The World's Largest Retailer Out Just Yet.

The countdown to defeat is ticking, and the time bomb is set to go off in less than four years. But Walmart isn't standing still waiting for Armageddon.?

Word on the street is it is in talks with most prominent media companies about adding a streaming video service to its membership program like Amazon does with Prime Video.?

If you think about it, the move has a ton of strategic merit. Walmart is countering the blitzkrieg with Amazon's own playbook, using its strategy against the e-commerce giant.

Taking Cues From The Big Media Companies?

It's working for the TV networks making the same table-turning judo move on Netflix. They are clawing back market share with a vengeance, stealing over two million subscribers from Netflix in the second quarter of 2022.?

Like its Netflix rivals, Walmart has been studying, watching, and biding its time since 1997, when Amazon's explosive growth made it apparent that the disrupter posed an existential threat to its dominance.?

Walmart's secretive subscription video service is just another building block in its bid to model its business after Amazon. It is likely targeting consumers who aren't willing to pay for more expensive streaming services.??

When bundled with other compelling membership benefits like discount gas, free delivery, and scan and go, a lower monthly price point has a good shot at sweeping millions of consumers off the table.?

Can Walmart disrupt the disrupter and defend its position at the top of the retail food chain? While most analysts believe that Amazon's triumph is imminent, the contrarian view is that it would be naive to count Walmart out.?

What A Partnership with A Global Entertainment Company Looks Like

When it joins forces with a mega-media company like Disney, which owns 21st Century Fox, Paramount, Showtime, FX, and the majority of Hulu, Walmart will be a force to be reckoned with on a global scale.?

Combined with its vicelike grip on 265 million customers, its streaming offering could be one of the most competitive services in the space.?

Its primary advantage in the streaming wars is that the service doesn't need to make money to be successful. Instead, it adds value and stickiness to its membership program in a company that generated $573 billion last year.?

That's why it's an almost a foregone conclusion that Walmart will disrupt the industry at a low-ball, value-packed price point.?

Why Their Brand Name Is A Mistake

Not to rain on its parade, but to be fair, the brand name they are contemplating is a snore. Walmart Plus sounds like every other streaming service. Paramount, Disney, ESPN, Apple TV, BET, AMC, and Discovery have gone the same plain vanilla route with the plus in their brand names.?

Walmart needs something sexier that differentiates the service as more than just an add-on. So what would you name it? Indeed other options would be more memorable and resonate at a deeper emotional level. Does it need the Walmart brand, or should it be a stand-alone??

Nobody from Walmart is going on record with trade secrets as loose lips sink ships, but the spy thriller with the insider's perspective will be fun to watch on its stream after Walmart rolls it out.??

This Is A Two Horse Race

It's not over yet. Walmart is an unbelievably entrenched competitor with vast marketing and distribution resources and the largest clientele since the dawn of retail.?

The fact is that 92% of retail purchases still happen offline in the physical world, prompting Amazon to swallow up Whole Foods. But, like in the beginning, when we thought it only sold books, the grocery acquisition gives us a glimpse into Amazon's ambitions in brick and mortar, where the bigger game is being played.?

Now it's coming for Walmart's offline money. But Walmart is just getting started on the reinvention of its core business. So this is going to get interesting.

Andrew Ellenberg?is President & Managing Partner Of?Rise Integrated, a global management consulting firm specializing in original journalism for national distribution. To submit story ideas or inquire about custom multimedia publishing and syndication services, email?[email protected]?or call 816-506-1257. Read more of his?work in Forbes.