Walmart Canada Begins E-Commerce

MARK HAMSTRA

NANTUCKET, Mass. — Walmart Canada has begun dipping its toes in the waters of ecommerce, the chief executive officer of the division said at an investor conference here this week.

Last week Walmart Canada, a division of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores, began testing drop-ship ordering on its website, which allows customers to order product direct from certain suppliers. Initial categories include home and office furniture, video games and baby care items.

Plans call for the test to run through September, when Walmart Canada plans to begin allowing customers to order products shipped directly from Walmart Canada's warehouses. Then sometime next year it would roll out a site-to-store service, through which customers can order online and pick up at local Walmart Canada locations.

"It's a pretty similar model to the U.S.," said David Cheesewright, the CEO of the division said at the Jefferies & Co. Global Consumer Conference. "We're leveraging the cost of developing this greatly, and we're very excited and very committed to this channel."