Walmart's Winning Moves: AI, Streaming Perks, and Pebbles Pay

Walmart BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.

Walmart continues to flex its retail dominance and innovation muscles as headlines and investor chatter focus squarely on its power moves and cultural moments this week. The company just unveiled a new perk for its five-year-old Walmart Plus program, now allowing members to pick between Paramount Plus or Peacock streaming—effectively handing over the TV remote and even more household leverage, all at no extra cost, starting September 15. Walmart’s own press release and multiple news outlets highlight how this is a clear shot at Amazon Prime’s entertainment bundle, meant to lure in cord-cutters and digital-first families as streaming perks become table stakes for retail subscriptions. Paramount Plus devotees get their crime dramas; sports nuts and reality fans can now pick Peacock—all included in that $98 a year Walmart Plus fee. Deepak Maini, the senior veep of Walmart Plus, is already basking in social media applause for giving customers control and expanding the program’s growing value proposition, which includes free delivery, shipping, gas discounts, and now even more premium streaming[Corporate Walmart, AS USA].

Meanwhile, in Bentonville, the fabled home of Walmart headquarters, things got delightfully weird and playful with the Pebbles Pay Tour—a promo event where guests could exchange actual handfuls of rocks for boxes of cereal outside select Walmart stores. This marketing stunt clearly broke through on Instagram and TikTok, generating crowds and plenty of viral user videos, and it adds to Walmart’s lighthearted branding for the crucial back-to-school season[Post Consumer Brands].

Walmart is also making national news for bigger strategic shifts. Its Islandia store on Long Island is about to join the Supercenter ranks, with a 50000-square-foot expansion featuring a full grocery and pharmacy drive-thru. The landlord is negotiating a longer lease as the remodel positions the shopping center for a 90 percent occupancy rate, reversing years of retail decline since Stop & Shop closed there. A public hearing is scheduled, and the expansion involves some tenant shuffling—not all smooth sailing, but another signal that even in saturated suburban America, Walmart keeps finding ways to win back foot traffic and local buzz[Long Island Business News].

Wall Street and the business trades are still parsing the lasting impact of Walmart’s AI strategy. With Doug McMillon touting new “super agent” bots and an AI upskilling certification launching in 2026 via a partnership with OpenAI, the company wants investors and tech media to see it as a digital leader, not just a discounter. Walmart just nabbed Daniel Danker, of Instacart fame, to helm AI acceleration. Early financial upside is still speculative, as McMillon himself said recent top-line bumps are driven by assortment and omnichannel innovation rather than direct AI contributions yet, but the roadmap has Goldman Sachs moving Walmart onto their Conviction Buy List[Grocery Dive, HR Dive].

Financially, Walmart reported another quarter of solid topline growth, with U.S. sales up and global e-commerce surging 25 percent, even as unexpected expenses and tariffs applied pressure. The company’s stock weathered the news well, with most analysts betting Walmart’s mix of value, convenience, and evolving tech will keep it atop the retail heap for the holiday drive and beyond. As the business press puts it, in the $40 billion back-to-school shopping wars, Walmart is not just participating—it’s dominating, and the rest of retail is trying to keep up[Mass Market Retailers, Kavout].

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