Walmart Mexico's customer insights revolution with AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) and Walmart Mexico's customer insights are a marriage made for a customer-centric culture. But making the most of the data and the technology isn't always easy. Walmart Mexico had a problem: fragmented customer insights across multiple departments. The solution was to create a unified Customer Office to enhance customer understanding and offer more personalized experiences, a must considering the rising expectations of consumers. 

Applying Walmart Mexico's customer insights 

Recently, at the CX Network All Access: AI + Data in CX webinar series, Montserrat Padierna, customer knowledge and experience CoE lead at Walmart Mexico, explained the steps the brand took to apply data and technology to forge a stronger bond with customers. 

Customer-centricity is a hallmark of Walmart Mexico and the entire brand, frankly. Previously, however, data silos forced leaders to confront big challenges. There were holes in their understanding. Three years ago, leadership birthed the Customer Office to consolidate what Padierna describes as five key areas: customer knowledge and experience, data, product marketing and customer service.

This unified CX management approach, in this case, allowed for a "more agnostic and comprehensive view of customer and member needs," said Padierna. 

"Being data-agnostic means looking beyond traditional operational data," added Padierna. "We combine internal information with external market data, including insights from our expanding services like internet and cell phone companies, health memberships and financial services. By breaking down data silos and looking at comprehensive patterns, we can understand customer behaviors more holistically." 

Understanding customers

To understand the diverse customer base, Walmart Mexico created five detailed customer personas to understand different segments. Padierna cited Andrea, who represents customers shopping on a budget at the bodega-type stores. 

"We've gone beyond basic demographics by analyzing shopping behaviors, search terms, seasonal trends and regional variations," said Padierna. "This approach helps us create more personalized and human-centered experiences." 

Of course, the data is only as good as the action leaders can take on it. To translate data insights into actionable items, Walmart Mexico has created a continuous feedback loop that includes the following steps: 

• Gather and integrate data from multiple sources.
• Work closely with business stakeholders.
• Develop recommendations aligned with commercial plans.
• Implement and measure results.
• Learn and optimize continuously.

"We use agile methodologies, working in sprints to define clear business questions, analyze data and provide recommendations," said Padierna.

Adapting to the findings 

In the course of this transformation, Walmart Mexico uncovered some surprises. It gave the company a new insight on how to win over customers. 

"We discovered that customers, especially younger ones, are increasingly 'switchers,' shopping across multiple retailers. In Mexico, younger customers might shop in up to 19 different places, with an average of seven," said Padierna. "This insight underscores the importance of creating exceptional, personalized experiences to retain customer loyalty." 

Walmart Mexico's endeavor is not happening in a vacuum. Walmart International recently announced the coming of Adaptive Retail, "the new era of retail defined by profoundly personal experiences that brings shopping to customers in exactly the ways they want and need."

Balancing human touch and leveraging AI 

Specifically, leaders are leveraging advanced, proprietary technology, including generative AI, augmented reality, immersive commerce platforms, etc. The goal is to better understand customers and offer hyper-personalized experiences across all channels in Walmart U.S., Sam's Club and Walmart International. 

Even as the company is deploying this technology, it is considering how to maintain its reputation as a human-centric brand. 

"Being people-led means we start with the human need and often, a combination of technologies like AI, GenAI, AR and Immersive Commerce, is key to the solution,” said Suresh Kumar, global chief technology officer and chief development officer, Walmart Inc. as reported by Walmart. “Our customers guide us and with these platforms, we’re ready for whatever they need.”

In fact, Padierna expressed similar sentiments in her session with CX Network. The mission is to strike the right balance between the human touch and the machine intervention. 

"While we're adopting AI to process insights and create personas, we're equally committed to preserving human connection," said Padierna. "We complement AI tools with extensive customer feedback, focusing on understanding local expressions, sentiments and regional nuances. Our goal is to use technology to enhance, not replace, the human experience."