Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, hopes to tap into China’s burgeoning online shopping market by selling product lines from its Sam’s Club warehouse stores to Chinese internet consumers.
The retailer is trialling a Chinese e-commerce website and hopes to fully launch its new venture soon, Walmart spokesperson Kevin Gardiner told the Wall Street Journal.
Mr Gardiner declined to comment on whether the company would create its own e-commerce website in China.
The venture recognises China’s development into a consumer society, where people have more power and money to make free-market choices, the newspaper said.
Wal-Mart is among just a handful of western companies that have said they are targeting China for e-commerce, reported the newspaper.
It added, however, that while Chinese use of the internet is growing, according to Forrester Research, just seven of the top 50 US online retailers operate e-commerce sites in China.
