Mexico in particular had a growth of 10% and Central America of 13.5%. Two-year cumulative growth in total revenues continues at high levels, reaching 20.7%.
“We saw that inflation begins to have a downward trend, although food inflation continues at high levels, therefore customers continued to adapt their shopping habits to be able to buy a complete basket,” the report reads.
Performance by region
In Central America, same store sales grew above the market, maintaining the momentum of growth with 12.4% during the first quarter. Guatemala and Nicaragua had the highest growth, followed by Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador.
They launched 385 new products for the summer, back-to-school, organization and cleaning, and health and beauty campaigns; Walmart’s own brands grew more than 20% in the quarter and increased their penetration by 170 basis points.
Revenues were 35,173 million pesos, with an Ebitda of 3,549 million pesos, which reflects a growth of 15.8%, compared to the first quarter of last year.
The company opened 12 new stores, nine in Mexico and three in Central America. New stores contributed 1.4% to consolidated total sales growth in the quarter. They also celebrated the 2,300th opening of Bodega in Santa Anita, Cadereyta.
In Mexico, revenues were driven by same store sales growth of 8.7% and by the contribution of e-commerce to total sales growth of 0.8%.
Revenues were 170,902 million pesos, while the operating flow was 18,767, that is, 7.1% more than in the first quarter of 2022.
Sam’s Club, the best performing format
Same store sales grew 8.7% in Mexico, where Sam’s Club had the highest growth during the quarter, with both online and membership orders growing more than 20% versus last year.
The Member’s Mark brand is key to the success of Sam’s Club, which is why in the quarter they launched the “Member’s Mark Fans” program, where 5,000 members provide their opinion through discussion groups for new product launches.
During the quarter, Member’s Mark penetration grew 320 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2022, representing an all-time high of 21.6% growth.
Bodega continues to show an above-average increase in sales. During the quarter, a new in-store communication strategy was implemented that generated an increase in price perception of 50 basis points. Bodega was also recognized as the third most valuable brand in Mexico, according to Kantar BrandZ.
The Walmart and Walmart Express formats showed lower growth as the general merchandise categories, which have a larger share of Walmart Supercenter sales compared to the rest of the formats, slowed as customers are prioritizing the purchase of products essential in an environment of high inflation.
During the quarter, seasonal campaigns such as Valentine’s Day were also implemented where sales were just 50% off at Walmart and Walmart Express. Likewise, Walmart Pass users increased 20% compared to last year.
The digital ecosystem
The company increased the number of SKU’s by more than 50% and grew 30% in sales compared to the first quarter of the previous year.
Bait reached 6.2 million active users, that is, 2.6 times the number of active users they had in the same period of 2022. New users from third parties grew nine times compared to last year.
Walmart Connect, the retailer’s advertising division, grew 64% and implemented 70% more campaigns compared to the first quarter of 2022. Nescafé’s 75th anniversary campaign is an example of the actions they took, they implemented a campaign in 100 stores with more than 300 modules, totem poles and entrance arches at Walmart Supercenter and Bodega Aurrera.
On the other hand, on March 7, Walmart announced the authorization by the CNBV to acquire the fintech Institución de Fondos de Pago Electrónico, Trafalgar. Thus, the retailer’s customers will now also be able to send and receive money through the SPEI payment network, make cash withdrawals at store cashiers, clubs or ATMs, and send remittances, among other services.
“Through this acquisition, we are unlocking the potential of Cashi. We can now fully implement the robust platform of financial solutions that we wanted to create as part of our ecosystem,” the report says.
As of March 31, 2023, the company operates 3,755 units in six countries: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, and Nicaragua, through self-service stores, membership price clubs, and omnichannel sales.