Walmart Inc is betting on India, Mexico, and China to drive the next phase of its international expansion, with a particular focus on scaling up ecommerce and omnichannel capabilities in these fast-growing markets.

The retail giant sees these regions as strategic priorities within its global portfolio, according to Kathryn McLay, president and chief executive, Walmart International. The division oversees the Bentonville-based retailer’s operations outside the United States (US), including its global online platforms.

McLay noted India, home to 1.4 billion people, represented a major opportunity in ecommerce. India’s internet economy is estimated to reach $1 trillion by 2030, primarily due to ecommerce. Yet online penetration remains relatively low, at just 9 per cent, highlighting the headroom for growth. To tap that opportunity, Walmart is continuing to build its Flipkart business, with ongoing investment in both established channels and newer retail formats.

“We see huge opportunities in that market, and we have been growing the Flipkart business,” said McLay during a fireside chat with Bernstein analyst Zhihan Ma at the Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2025 in the US on Wednesday.

Walmart entered India in February 2018 through its $16 billion acquisition of ecommerce firm Flipkart, which operates as a pure-play online 3P (third-party) marketplace.

The original premise for Flipkart was to bring branded items to Tier-II and -III cities, where access to such products was earlier limited. Consumers in these areas would often travel to Tier-I cities for items like Levi’s products. Flipkart initially focused on categories such as mobile phones, electronics, and apparel, and these core categories have since reached profitability. As the business matured, McLay said Flipkart had been expanding both its assortment and its overall offering to meet evolving customer needs.

In recent years, McLay said quick commerce had emerged as a major trend in India, defined by delivery times of 15 minutes or less. Recognising this shift, Flipkart has developed what it calls its “Minutes business”, specifically designed to enable delivery within this new, accelerated time frame. The company has established 250 fulfilment centres to support this model, marking a significant transformation from its previous one-to-two day delivery promise just a year ago. Today, Flipkart can deliver some orders in as little as three minutes, showcasing remarkable operational speed and agility.

“It was a one- to two-day promise. Now we have a 15-minute promise, and sometimes we can deliver in as short as three minutes,” said McLay. “Those capabilities are insane for me. They’re kinda mind blowing.”

Quick commerce now represents about 20 per cent of the ecommerce market in India and is experiencing a 50 per cent annual growth rate.

While Flipkart continues on its path to profitability with its core business, McLay said the firm was investing in emerging areas like quick commerce as part of its broader growth strategy.

Walmart views this expansion not as a linear path to profitability but as one that is supported by strong international proof points across markets and channels, reinforcing confidence in the long-term trajectory, according to McLay.

Flipkart is also incorporating global best practices into its operations. When the rise of quick commerce became evident, McLay said Flipkart Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kalyan Krishnamurthy referred to Walmart’s operations in China, specifically the cloud-based fulfilment model used by Sam’s Club, where 1,000 SKUs (stock-keeping units) are delivered in less than one hour.

Flipkart sent a team to China to study this model, which provided insights into optimising fulfilment for speed. Based on the experience, Flipkart aimed to improve on the model by scaling up to 6,000 SKUs delivered in less than 15 minutes.

“When we saw the rise in quick commerce, our CEO of Flipkart asked me, where can I learn across Walmart Enterprise about speed? And I pointed him to China,” recalled McLay.

These adaptations are now being shared with other markets, including China, showcasing how learning flows both into and out of India within Walmart’s global network.

McLay also shared insights about Flipkart’s growth and profitability. In contrast to Walmart’s China operations, which are largely first-party and do not include digital advertising, she said Flipkart’s business model included digital advertising as a revenue stream and as part of its overall profitability profile.

“One of the hidden gems, I think, in the Flipkart business is Myntra,” said McLay.

One of the standout elements within Flipkart is Myntra, its dedicated app and brand for beauty, apparel, and accessories. Myntra has built capabilities around customisation and hyper-personalisation, and is regarded as a leader in the use of generative AI within Walmart International. For example, Myntra enables users to enter personalised prompts such as “I’m going to a wedding in Kerala in the summer with guests mostly in their twenties, and it will be semi-formal”, in response, the platform generates four different outfit looks

Flipkart’s broader business strategy continues to focus on the core ecommerce model, Myntra’s advanced personalisation capabilities, and the expansion of quick commerce. Walmart confirmed that the business was on the right growth trajectory and that while profitability was a goal, the company would not sacrifice market share and long-term growth to achieve it prematurely.

Author Credits- Peerzada Abrar
Business Standard