How Walmart Makes Holiday Grocery Magic
Walmart is doubling down on value to ensure that families across America can celebrate their traditions affordably, conveniently, and joyfully now through New Year’s Eve.
In an exclusive interview with Progressive Grocer, Walmart U.S. EVP of Food John Laney shared insights into the company’s new Holiday Ham Basket, explaining that the offering is based on Walmart’s customer-centric approach when it comes to its grocery assortment, omnichannel offerings, private brands, and even community partnerships — all of which are very appealing to an inflation-weary but hardy shopper who is ready to celebrate.
“We see a pretty resilient consumer who continues to celebrate the things that matter in their life and that includes the key holidays and the key moments,” Laney said. “We just had our big Thanksgiving program for less than $7 a person. We put together a full basket of goods to help make that simple and affordable for them. And as we shift into Christmas, I think we need to do more of the same. With our new Holiday Ham Basket, we're going to be aggressive with how we price and position that to have a successful holiday season in front of us. Our customers prioritize moments that matter — holidays and milestones with their loved ones—and we want to show up for them in those moments.”
Revolutionizing Meal Solutions
Walmart’s new holiday meal basket reflects this commitment.
With 28 items, including ham, holiday side dish staples such as green beans and sweet potatoes, and desserts such as pumpkin pie and pecan pie, the basket offers an affordable, complete holiday meal solution for up to 12 people. At just under $5 per person, it allows families to save money without sacrificing quality or tradition.
Laney says the Thanksgiving meal program last month resulted in “double digit growth“ for the basket for the retailer.
“Really exciting performance and consistent across that portfolio as well,” Laney said. “It was not one of those situations where there was one product line that drove 90% of the growth. It was very consistent. But we were strong in the center of the plate, and Thanksgiving is all about the turkey and for Christmas, it’s all about the ham. What matters most to customers is the center of the plate; they want a high quality protein source that’s easy to prepare for their families.”
This holiday season, Walmart has more than 3,000 price rollbacks in grocery and more than 6,000 rollbacks across the store. For the retailer, the focus is not just on discounts for individual items but on ensuring that the total basket cost remains affordable.
“What matters most is the receipt when customers walk out the door,” Laney said. “Our pricing strategy is designed to give them confidence that they’re saving money overall.”
This year’s Holiday Ham Basket was ideated way back in March, Laney said, with the retailer leveraging customer-driven data and supplier partnerships to secure the best quality products and prices.
“Customers tell us what they want ” Laney said. “And it's on us to go find the best prices, find the best quality products that we can and build it in a way that sparks interest for the most people we possibly can. You know, everyone has a nuance on how they serve a holiday meal. We're not focused on the nuance. We're focused on the big items that everyone serves at every event. And we want to merchandise that basket and not just the items in the basket. And so we listen to the customers. And then we go out and we work with our suppliers to find the best supply chain that we can with the best quality products with the best pricing that we can get and present it in a way that's meaningful to the customer.”
This is the third year that Walmart will offer a holiday meal basket, and this one is better than ever, Laney said. “They keep getting better. They're performing better. The relevance is better, the assortment is better."
However They Want It
Beyond affordability, Walmart understands that convenience is a key driver of shopper traffic this holiday season as consumers find themselves especially time-starved.
Walmart’s omnichannel capabilities have redefined grocery retail, allowing customers to shop in-store, order online, or opt for delivery with ease. This flexibility has been instrumental in driving growth at the company, because customers can count on a seamless experience whether they’re shopping for a single item or a full holiday feast. This holiday season, the retailer has made it very easy for customers to add the entire meal basket to their digital carts — with one click.
“This year, there’s a week less between Thanksgiving and Christmas, making time even more precious for families,” Laney noted. “Customers can click add to cart for the whole basket online; that saves people a lot of time. So solving the problem of an affordable holiday meal is just half the equation. The other half is how we leverage the full scale of Walmart to save them time as well.”
When Walmart reported its third quarter earnings a few weeks ago, the retailer said its digital grocery orders grew by 22% in Q3 alone, reflecting the growing importance of Walmart’s omnichannel capabilities.
“It's imperative that we are great no matter how the customer wants to shop. What's changed in our industry in the last decade is simply that people have options; they can shop however they want and their expectations have grown as well,” Laney said. “They expect different things from us than they ever expected before. In this last quarter, our store volumes grew, our pickup volumes grew faster than our store volume, and our delivery volumes grew faster than our pickup volume. And that is the profile that we want. That's the successful profile of an omnichannel retailer, one that is showing up for customers no matter how they want to shop. I'm really excited about the underlying momentum in our business.”
Laney said he doesn’t expect the omnichannel momentum from shoppers to decrease anytime soon.
“At the end of the day, when you look forward in time, people are going to use the omnichannel experience more than what they've done in the past,” he explained. “And so when it comes to our supplier partnerships and other things that we're working on, it's all about accelerating that and getting out of the way, letting it run as hard and as far as it can run in a way that solves real customer problems. We're in a really sweet spot right now in our food business, where customers are seeing us not just as a solution to their financial struggles but also as a solution to their struggles of making life happen. And when those come together, the trust factor goes up and we can build long-term relationships with our customers that we're very proud of. There's a lot of momentum in the space. And we intend to keep that momentum going and leverage it for the growth of the company.”
Food categories were especially strong during Walmart’s third quarter, with unit volumes growing by the highest level in four years. For the 13-week period ended Oct. 25, Walmart also saw comp sales increase 5.3% year-over-year. A large percentage of Walmart’s market share gains came from higher income customers, something that has been happening for several quarters. Households earning more than $100,000 made up 75% of share gains.
A Broader Demographic
Why is Walmart resonating with a larger swath of shoppers across diverse income levels?
“First, everyone wants to save money, even higher-income people want to save money and we want to be a solution for them in doing that,” Laney said. “Second, everyone values convenience. So when you add those two things together, Walmart is a place for everyone to shop. It's encouraging to see us resonate even more greatly with some of those shoppers who maybe didn't consider us in the past. They're considering us at an increasing rate and I think it's the balance of those two things.”
Walmart’s efforts to cater to a more diverse demographic also include introducing new private brand, such as the retailer’s bettergoods line that it debuted in April, its largest private brand food launch in 20 years. Bettergoods aims to offer quality, trend-forward and chef-inspired food that’s affordable, with most items priced under $5.
“When we launched bettergoods, that was a really important strategy to get consideration from a group of people who maybe weren't considering us. And we'll continue to be strategic about how we go about doing that,” Laney said.
With over 330 items already introduced, the brand is designed to surprise and delight customers while addressing unmet needs.
“Bettergoods allows us to meet emerging customer expectations,” Laney explained. “It’s about showing them that they can eat healthier or try something new without breaking the bank.”
Walmart’s ability to anticipate and adapt to changing customer needs is evident in its approach to the food assortment generally. “Having the products people want is the foundation of everything we do,” Laney said. The company’s team of merchants plays a critical role in this process. By analyzing trends, collaborating with suppliers, and exploring new opportunities, they ensure Walmart’s shelves are stocked with both familiar favorites and innovative options. This year has seen a surge in product innovation, particularly in grocery, following a slowdown during the pandemic. Walmart has introduced new items across its assortment, keeping the shopping experience fresh and engaging.
“We're in a spot right now where we're seeing more and stronger innovation, which is really exciting,” Laney said. “We always want to win with new products. We measure our market share of new products. We have goals that we have on new products. We want to win, win early, and keep an over-indexed market share of those products. And so we're going to keep looking for great new items. And we are going to be aggressive with how we merchandise them and how we show them to customers both in store and online. Customers love discovering something new, and our goal is to deliver that excitement while solving real problems for them.”
Walmart’s private brands are a cornerstone of its grocery strategy, providing both value and innovation. And the company’s Great Value brand, long a staple in American households, remains central to Walmart’s mission of affordability.
“Anytime I visit a food pantry or community event, I see Great Value products, and it makes me proud,” Laney shared. “The brand plays a vital role in making quality accessible to everyone.”
Time for Giving
Speaking of accessibility, Walmart is leveraging its scale not just in offering shoppers value and convenience but also in giving them a way to support those in need. Through its partnership with the Salvation Army, customers can easily donate the equivalent of a meal to families in their local communities.
“Our customers love to participate in goodwill, especially during the holidays,” Laney said. “We’re proud to help them make a difference.”
This initiative is part of Walmart’s broader commitment to community support, aligning with its mission to bring joy and hope to as many people as possible during the holiday season.
From the affordability of the holiday meal basket to the convenience of its omnichannel solutions and the variety offered by its national and private brands, Walmart is delivering on its promise to make life a little better for everyone.
“When price, assortment, and convenience come together, that’s when the magic happens. We’re proud to be part of our customers’ lives, especially during the moments that matter most.”
