Walmart To Buy Social Media Firm Kosmix

(NEW YORK) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Monday it agreed to buy social media company Kosmix for an undisclosed sum, as the world's largest retailer aims to win over more tech-savvy shoppers.

Wal-Mart said Kosmix's founders and team will operate as part of a newly formed group called @WalmartLabs that will create technologies and businesses around shopping online or with smart phones.

"We are expanding our capabilities in today's rapidly growing social commerce environment," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, Walmart's vice chairman. "Social networking and mobile applications are increasingly becoming a part of our customers' day-to-day lives globally, influencing how they think about shopping."

Earlier on Monday, Wal-Mart's chief executive Mike Duke said in a statement that his top priority for this year was to turn around same-store sales at its U.S. discount chain.

Kosmix's founders, who sold their first company Junglee to Amazon.com Inc in 1998, will continue to be based in California's Silicon Valley.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions

Comments

[Dailey Turner]

04:18 PM on 04/27/2011

I had never heard of Kosmix before Walmart bought it. I wonder if it will become popular. What do you guys think? -http://tinyurl.com/3j5ke49

[VerizonCells]

09:13 PM on 04/19/2011

Walmart should buy the state of Florida

[ThatOneGuy801]

04:33 PM on 04/19/2011

Walmart: UR doing it rong.

[J0E1]

04:02 PM on 04/19/2011

How about you bring your site up to date first?  Unlike what seems like every other retailer, wal-mart still doesn't have an accurate inventory of items or an accurate listing of in-store available items.  They finally added an option to "buy online, pick up in store" except you can only do so if you can add the item to your cart.  You can't add the item to your cart if it's sold out online so even if it shows in stock in your local store, you can't buy it.  Let's face it, walmart is not a pleasant store to shop in and I have gone in enough times to find out either 1. they don't sell a particular item from their website in their store, or 2. they are out of stock.  That alone keeps me from going to walmart and instead I shop at store where I can hold an item by buying it online or see that it's available and in stock before I go.  My time is worth the extra $1 I pay instead of store hopping. Fix this first then talk social media.

[French Toast]

02:10 PM on 04/19/2011

It doesn't matter how much advertising or social media you do, Wal-Mart. You are not worth shopping at.

[StansDad]

02:03 PM on 04/19/2011

Captialism, a system of wealth distribution whereby huge companies begin acquiring one another, lessening competition and quality of products.

[blurredmolly]

01:12 PM on 04/19/2011

ef Walmart. Right up the chute.

[Phlan]

01:12 PM on 04/19/2011

Do not want

[Olestra66]

12:27 PM on 04/19/2011

do you have to be missing half your teeth and wearing a tweety bird t-shirt to get access to the site?

[andee v]

08:23 AM on 04/19/2011

After going to Kosmix for 10 minutes, I found the website awful. I don't see how Walmart could do anything good with this.

[Daly]

12:06 PM on 04/19/2011

oxymorn?  walmart ... anything good
perhaps the women of the class act will join the site to have their say