• June 3, 2011

At Wal-Mart Stores annual shareholders meeting, CEO Mike Duke vowed to focus on what he called the "next generation customer," with a major emphasis on e-commerce, smart phones, and social media, in order to better reach the "millions who are striving to join the emerging global middle class."

While promising that growth in sales--particularly in U.S. sales, which have been weak--remains the company's "greatest priority," the company says in its release of his remarks that it will intensify its commitment to global e-commerce. "With our stores and low prices, we can really take advantage of mobile technology and this era of price transparency," said Duke. "We can combine our stores, our systems, and our logistics expertise into one continuous channel to drive growth and serve the Next Generation Customer around the world. In global e-commerce, we will not just be competing. We will play to win."

Last month, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer invested in Yihaodian, an e-commerce business in China. And in April, it spent $300 million to acquire Kosmix, a social media technology company.