Walmart CEO John Furner said the retailer is “becoming AI native.”
Speaking on the retailer’s Q1 earnings call with analysts, Furner discussed how Walmart is using artificial intelligence, especially regarding agentic AI. Furner said Sparky, Walmart’s shopping agent, is making it possible for the retailer to become AI-native.
Additionally, Walmart is using AI in its supply chain. Furner said AI helps Walmart improve how it positions inventory, make fulfillment decisions and “serve customers and members in real time.”
Furner said Walmart has made investments in AI-powered data that allow the retailer to “make faster decisions and fulfill in the very best way possible on top of the supply chain investments that we’ve made over the last few years.”
Walmart is No. 2 in the Top 2000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.
Walmart is also No. 8 in the Global Online Marketplaces. That database ranks the top such marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).
How Walmart’s AI agent, Sparky, impacts sales
“Weekly active users are up over 100% just in the last quarter,” Furner said. “And our investments in AI have increased Sparky intelligence and response quality by 40% this year. Sparky is becoming more useful by the day.”
Furner said consumers can now use Sparky in stores and automatically reorder items they have on repeat. The agent is also available to Spanish speakers now.
Furner also said Walmart customers using the Sparky AI agent have an average order value (AOV) that’s about 35% higher than that of non-users.
Walmart highlights where customers can access its AI agent for shopping assistance in its mobile app. | Image credit: Still from Walmart Sparky video
David Guggina, CEO of Walmart U.S., said Sparky’s expanding capabilities are fueling its growth. Sparky is now live across Walmart’s ecommerce website, mobile app and stores, he said.
“We’ve added new capabilities like personalized replenishment, meal planning and more intelligent recommendations based on our inventory positioning, our prices and our delivery speed capabilities,” Guggina said.
Guggina noted that when Walmart debuted Sparky, consumer engagement surrounding it “centered more heavily on general merchandise discovery missions.” But as Walmart has expanded Sparky’s capabilities, it has seen customers use the AI agent for everyday essentials such as food and other consumables, he said.
As a result, Guggina said, units that Walmart customers purchased through Sparky have more than quadrupled since its previous fiscal quarter.
Incorporating AI in Walmart advertising
Chief financial officer John David Rainey said Walmart is also using AI in its toolkit for ad buyers.
That includes AI features that Rainey said help advertisers “dynamically adjust content mix to optimize campaign performance, while expanding reach and surfaces with Vizio’s connected platform.”
In its fiscal Q1, Walmart advertising revenue increased 37% globally. Within the U.S., that growth was 36%. Walmart said advertising was one of three main drivers of its ecommerce sales growth in its fiscal Q1. The other two drivers were its online marketplace and store-fulfilled delivery.
Walmart acquired television brand Vizio in December 2024 for about $2.3 billion.
In March, Walmart said it planned to release new integrations with Vizio as it sought to further its “content to commerce” approach that centers around connected TV (CTV).
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