Overview

Walmart is one of the world's largest retailers, serving hundreds of millions of customers through an integrated network of stores, e-commerce, pickup, and delivery services. Operating at massive global scale, Walmart continuously invests in technology to simplify shopping, improve customer experiences, and create more efficient retail operations.

Supernova Award Category

Next Generation Customer Experience

The Problem

Traditional online shopping often requires customers to search through thousands of products, creating friction, longer shopping journeys, and missed purchasing opportunities. Walmart sought to transform digital commerce by helping customers express their intent instead of relying solely on keyword searches, while seamlessly connecting AI-powered recommendations with its omnichannel fulfillment network.

The Solution

Walmart developed Sparky, an AI-powered shopping assistant that uses conversational AI to understand customer intent, recommend relevant products, build personalized shopping baskets, and connect purchases directly to Walmart's fulfillment ecosystem. Built on Walmart's global technology platform, Sparky combines generative AI with omnichannel inventory, fulfillment, and associate operations to create a more personalized and efficient shopping experience that continuously improves as the underlying AI models learn.

The results

Sparky transformed Walmart's digital shopping experience from traditional product search into intent-driven commerce. Customers receive faster, more relevant recommendations while Walmart benefits from increased engagement, higher conversion rates, and larger shopping baskets. By integrating AI directly into its omnichannel platform, Walmart has demonstrated how conversational commerce can drive measurable business outcomes while creating a scalable foundation for global expansion.

Metrics

• Customers using Sparky generate an average order value 35% higher than customers who do not use the AI assistant. • Approximately 50% of Walmart app users have already engaged with Sparky. • AI-powered product discovery has increased customer engagement, improved conversion rates, and contributed to larger basket sizes. • Walmart is preparing to expand Sparky beyond the United States using a platform-first architecture designed for global deployment. • The platform leverages Walmart's network of 1.5 million U.S. associates alongside its omnichannel fulfillment capabilities.

The Technology

• Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) • Agentic AI • Sparky AI Shopping Assistant • Conversational Commerce • Intent-Based Product Discovery • Omnichannel Commerce Platform • AI-Powered Recommendation Engine • Global Technology Platform • OpenAI Integration • Google Cloud AI Technologies

Disruptive Factor

Walmart is redefining digital commerce by shifting from search-based shopping to intent-driven, agentic commerce. Rather than requiring customers to navigate endless product catalogs, Sparky understands shopping goals, builds personalized baskets, and seamlessly connects recommendations to Walmart's fulfillment network. This platform-first approach allows Walmart to deploy AI innovations globally while leveraging existing infrastructure, creating a scalable model for the future of retail. By integrating AI directly into every stage of the shopping journey, Walmart demonstrates how conversational commerce can simultaneously improve customer experience and deliver measurable business growth.

Shining Moment

Sparky's greatest achievement is proving that agentic AI can produce measurable retail outcomes at enterprise scale. Instead of serving as a novelty feature, the AI assistant directly influences purchasing behavior, increasing average order values by 35% while making shopping simpler and more personalized. Walmart has shown that AI delivers the greatest value when it seamlessly connects customer intent with real-world fulfillment, transforming digital engagement into immediate business results.