CREATING—AND LEARNING FROM—LIVING LABS: WALMART Retail in general may be severely disrupted, but Walmart has The store is staffed by 100 employees who leverage resisted the trend. Staying ahead on innovation is one reason artificially intelligent sensors and cameras to monitor why. While a spate of acquisitions has boosted Walmart’s online inventory and replenish stock, which frees up much needed 20 22 presence significantly , the retailer is not neglecting its physical time to spend with their customers. stores. Walmart continues to solidify its organic growth plans by In the words of Mike Hanrahan, CEO of the new lab, opening its first AI-enabled Intelligent Retail Lab (IRL) location. “Technology enables us to understand so much more, in real Developed by the company’s innovation incubator, Store No. 8, time, about our business.” This is creating a virtuous circle the new store will be used as a testing ground to experiment within the company, where what leaders learn from new with emerging technology.21 developments like IRL feeds Walmart’s evolving strategy. 30 BREAKING THROUGH DISRUPTION