Although Wal-Mart has put more than $1 million into its online shopping venue, Wal-Mart.com, the online operation is shaving a reported penny per share off the retailer's traditional store earnings.
Furthermore, Kmart's rival site, Bluelight.com, has been outperforming the Wal-Mart counterpart for the last six months. According to Media Matrix, a Web ratings agency, Bluelight.com saw a half a million more potential customers (1,835,000) in June than Wal-Mart.com (1,299,000). Target.com drew 976,000 online browsers.
In March, Jeanne Jackson, former Banana Republic ceo, had made news by accepting the challenge to run the Wal-Mart online operations. Now there are more changes in store. Wal-Mart will likely re-launch the site sometime before the holidays, expecting to improve site navigation and consumer experience, and offer new services.