Walmart joins hands with Google to solve one of its biggest customer problems
Walmart has been one of the most trusted names among retailers and a dominating player in the market for decades. Now the giant is eyeing expansion beyond groceries and general merchandise, and moving into consumer technology. After the retail giant's president and CEO, Doug McMillon, warned its workforce to embrace the impact of AI, Walmart has now partnered with Google to bring its AI technology to its customers. The two powerhouses have formed an alliance to sell AI-powered home surveillance solutions.
Walmart has been diversifying beyond the aisles for a long time. For instance, its powerful retail-media business is booming with ad sales reaching a height of 50% year-over-year as Walmart Connect partnered with Vizio to link consumers’ data with streaming inventory, as per El Dario. Pushing more tech, the retail giant is ramping up its investment in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within its ecosystem as well, with McMillon recently hinting that all jobs in the organization will change due to AI. Now, Walmart is partnering with Google on a new initiative aimed at addressing a persistent household problem.
Walmart is turning to Google to bring AI-powered security cameras to deter intruders across the country. The retail giant announced the collaboration with Google to introduce AI features in its private Onn-branded smart cameras. This combines the retailer's low-cost hardware with advanced AI. Walmart aims to take on the home surveillance market by undercutting competition on price. The retailer’s Onn Indoor Camera is available for only $22.96, while the Onn Video Doorbell sells for just $49.86, which is less than its rivals like Ring.
With the partnership, both these devices seamlessly sync with the Google Home app, and with a premium subscription, users get access to Google Gemini's AI services like AI-generated text descriptions of events and searchable video history. Apart from that, the devices offer high-quality live video, snapshots, motion detection, and sound recognition, which picks up voices and consistent barking, according to the official press release.
Google stated that while Walmart is the first external brand to integrate Gemini for Home AI into its cameras, the brand will not be limited to just one OEM. “We don’t want to constrain Gemini to just one brand, one OEM, one form factor, one price point. Walmart’s our first. It was a very deep collaboration," Google Home’s Anish Kattukaran said in a press brief as per TechCrunch.
On the other hand, for Walmart, the deal marks its entry into the fast-growing smart-home arena, building on its larger, blanket AI push. The retailer’s play seems to be different as its private-label Onn products are placed on the value end of the market. Thus, analysts at Omdia noted that the private label is looking to squeeze the established players at lower price points. The Onn brand already featured 61 products in Walmart's top 100 electronics bestsellers in recent months, indicating that affordable, functional smart-home devices are popular in the market.
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