Walmart is quietly trying to prove that low prices and “upscale” can coexist, The Wall Street Journal writes.
The retailer is overhauling its home-goods strategy—betting that trendier furniture, décor and kitchenware (including a $1,699 De’Longhi espresso machine) can lure higher-income shoppers and shore up margins while helping it better compete with Amazon.
The push comes as Amazon’s share of the U.S. furniture and home-furnishings market has climbed to 20%, more than double its level in 2019, while Walmart’s share has slipped. Grocery remains Walmart’s growth engine, but profits there are thin, prompting executives to chase higher-margin categories like home.
To “democratize style,” Walmart has revamped its own brands, leaned into design-forward partnerships like Drew Barrymore’s Beautiful line, and courted more premium labels—with mixed results.
Some bets, like Yankee Candles and Nespresso, worked; others, like a Gap home partnership, did not. Still, Walmart is doubling down that better design can reshape how consumers see the big-box giant—and how much they’re willing to spend there.
