Walmart has launched Sparky, a customer-facing generative AI assistant integrated into its app, designed to assist shoppers by summarizing reviews, answering questions, offering recommendations, and aiding in purchase planning. Building on its earlier deployment of Wally, an AI tool for merchants, Walmart aims to enhance its retail operations and customer experience through AI-driven solutions. Sparky is expected to expand functionalities to include reordering and service booking, and it will soon support various input types such as text, images, audio, and video, leveraging retail-specific language models to personalize and streamline the shopping process.
Early testing indicates that AI agents perform best when focused on specific tasks like item comparisons and personalized shopping journeys. Walmart’s research shows a growing customer acceptance of AI suggestions, with over a quarter of respondents preferring AI recommendations and many using AI to compare prices and track deals. However, the data also reveals a cautious approach from shoppers, with nearly half unlikely to rely entirely on AI for their shopping trips. Despite ongoing AI investments, Walmart recently reduced 1,500 jobs in its U.S. retail and tech sectors to improve decision-making speed and foster innovation among its workforce.
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Walmart debuts Sparky, its generative AI assistant for customers | Retail Dive
About The Author: Jeff Dervech
Jeff Dervech is a Tampa local commercial real estate agent, specializing in the arena of retail strip center and shopping centers.
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