Walmart’s Lead US eCommerce Exec Steps Down

Walmart’s top eCommerce in the U.S. executive is leaving the company, part of a series of recent leadership changes at the retail giant.

As The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (Jan. 20), Casey Carl, a former Target executive who joined Walmart in 2020, will step down next month.

A memo sent to the newspaper says that Tom Ward, a senior vice president who has spearheaded Walmart’s effort to use its stores as online delivery hubs, will take Carl’s place.

Carl took the eCommerce job following the departure of Marc Lore, founder of the eCommerce startup Jet.com Inc., which Walmart purchased in 2016 for $3.3 billion.

“He’s created a solid foundation for our eCommerce business and [a] strong team that is positioned to accelerate growth across the business, and he’s ready for his next challenge,” a Walmart spokeswoman said of Casey.

The company say its worldwide eCommerce sales increased 17% during the ninth-month period ending Oct. 31 over the same period for the previous year. U.S. online sales grew at nearly the same pace, although they trailed behind Amazon.

“Continuing the growth of our eCommerce business is critical to our long-term success,” said Walmart’s U.S. Chief Executive John Furner in Thursday’s memo.

Walmart recently announced the retirement of its chief merchandising officer and the departure of its chief customer officer. The company often announces these changes around this time of year, after the holidays and near the end of its fiscal year.

Read more: Walmart US Chief To NRF: ‘Loyalty in Retail is the Absence of Something Better’

Earlier this week, Furner, speaking in his capacity of new chairman of the National Retail Federation, said that while consumers love eCommerce, they also love going to a store, with his company reporting increased traffic in stores in recent quarters.

That may be due to the fact that Walmart workers are administering COVID-19 vaccines and testing customers for the virus.

“We have learned how to deal with COVID,” said Furner. “Our teams became defined as essential workers.”