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ORLANDO, Fla. — James Schroder has been answering plenty of questions from customers since Wal-Mart Stores Inc. unveiled its newest supercenter in this 7,000-acre community known as Lake Nona. As manager of the 190,000-square-foot store promising innovative technology, an efficient layout and other customer- centric services, Schroder anticipated a flood of inquiries from curious shop- pers. But he's also confident customers are adjusting to Wal-Mart's new digs and everything it has to offer. "I have customers tell me all the time they can get in and out so much faster," Schroder said during a tour in April. "Not because of anything that we're doing differently, but because of the technology that we've put into the store." Lake Nona is one of two concept stores the retailer has opened this year along with a similar supercenter located in the Houston area. The Lake Nona store, which opened Jan. 25 and is located in a growing community within Orlando's city limits, is being tested to determine whether the retailer will roll out the prototype at other locations across the country. There are a few tech-based features available in the store. The most prom- inent is Wal-Mart's Scan & Go, which allows customers to scan items with their mobile phones as they shop and pay for them through a mobile app to skip the checkout line. A version using a hand-held device also is available. A Sam's Club Scan & Go app was rolled out nationwide last year, but the two new stores — along with the super- center in Rogers — are the only locations currently testing the Wal-Mart version. 10 NWA Democrat-Gazette Walmart Shareholders Thursday, June 1, 2017 Tra ff i c co n t i n u e d to c l i m b i n Wal-Mart's U.S. stores as well during a period in which other retailers strug- gled to get customers through the doors. U.S. e-commerce sales also increased 29 percent in the quarter. "The strategy is working," Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs said in March. Brian Yarbrough, a retail analyst with Edward Jones, believes plenty of ques- tions about long-term results remain. But changes have led to Wal-Mart becoming a completely different company than it was three years ago. Under McMillon, he said Wal-Mart has "done a good job of saying we have to change or we're going to get left behind." "They're probably on the forefront of everything that's going on in retail," Yarbrough said. "I give them credit for not just sitting still and saying, 'We're just going to let Amazon eat our lunch.' They're moving rapidly and trying a lot of things. Some will work and some won't, that's just the nature of it." In the past, Wal-Mart has been crit- icized for responding too slowly to change. But Yarbrough agreed with McMillon's thoughts that the company must remain cautious about changing too much, too quickly. He pointed to potential insights from the company's recent integration with Jet.com that could be "shoved down the pipeline," but he believes Wal-Mart is likely trying to pace the introduction of new concepts. There are also chances to buy more online retailers, which U.S. e-commerce chief Marc Lore has said the company will consider if it makes "good business sense." Yarbrough said there are "tons" of opportunities to take the technology available today and apply it to retail as well, but going too fast carries the risk of overwhelming employees. "I think there's so many options on the technology front and so many things for them to do, that I think [McMillon is] carefully trying to pick through that," Yarbrough said. It doesn't mean McMillon won't continue to plow new ground, particu- larly in an e-commerce operation that continues to expand and now offers more than 35 million items for Walmart. com customers. Wal-Mart also has committed to getting those items to consumers quicker as well, offering free two-day shipping on more than 1 million products aided by a beefed up fulfillment network. "This e-commerce business is not magical," McMillon said. "You can build it. And I think today we understand a lot more than we did in the past about how to do it and really excited about the talent that we have in the company help- ing us figure that out. So I think we've got a great opportunity. "The question that I think is kind of on all of our minds is how fast can you scale it and what does that mean to prof- itability over time?" That remains to be seen. McMillon told investors that "part of winning is generating a return," but added that it doesn't have to be delivered in one quar- ter. It's a familiar message from Wal-Mart, which has cautioned investors that profits would be relatively flat in the short term as it invests in e-commerce operations, store remodels and other technological advancements aimed at propelling the company's transforma- tion. "I'm not trying to say just hang with us and in a decade we'll make money," McMillon said. "I'm not saying that. I'm saying that as you hold us accountable, you'll see progress. But we're not going to be short-sighted. We're going to do what we need to do to build the capa- bilities to win." McMillon v Continued from Page 8 ArkAnsAs DemocrAt-GAzette/ROBBIE NEISWANGER Store manager James Schroder demonstrates a large touch screen in the toy department at a Wal-Mart supercenter in Orlando, Fla. The touch screen gives customers a chance to sift through the retailer's in-store and online catalog. Wal-Mart tests Scan & Go app RETAILER AIMS TO COMpETE WITH THE LIkES OF AMAzON.COM ArkAnsAs DemocrAt-GAzette See App, Page 11