Walmart China has entered into a new strategic partnership with China's biggest food delivery company Meituan.
The China unit of Walmart said in a post on Wechat the partnership would help it accelerate its e-commerce business, which currently accounts for nearly half of it China sales.
Stores in China have already been connected to Meituan's delivery ecosystem, the announcement added.
In addition to Walmart stores, Walmart China has opened 50 Sam's Club stores in China, which have benefitted from Chinese consumers increasingly seeking out membership stores.
Walmart was previously aligned with Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com before selling its roughly $3.7 billion stake in August. At that time the US retail company said it would focus on its own operations in China.
The US retailer raised its annual sales and profit forecast for the third consecutive time, with people buying more groceries and merchandise online and at its stores, a sign that it may be gaining market share ahead of the holiday season.
The retailer is among the first major US chains to provide insight into the all-important holiday quarter and how consumers are planning to spend as inflation ebbs.
Meituan
In November, Meituan posted a bigger-than-expected 22.4% rise in third-quarter revenue, defying sluggish Chinese consumption.
Its net profit for the quarter hit 12.86 billion yuan (€1.7 billion), increasing from a profit of 3.59 billion (€470 million) yuan a year earlier.
Beyond mainland China, Meituan has also begun looking abroad for growth, launching Keeta in Hong Kong in 2023, and expanding that food delivery service to Saudi Arabia in recent months.
