Walmart partners with Rakuten for online groceries and ebooks

By Eric Brackett Published January 28, 2018

Walmart Black Friday — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Walmart has announced a partnership with Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, which will see the retail giant expand its operations in Japan and the U.S.

On the Japanese side of things, Walmart plans to use its partnership with Rakuten to expand its grocery footprint in the country. Walmart will begin offering online grocery service to Japan through its partnership with Rakuten.

Recommended Videos

Reuters reports that the new service will be named “Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper” and will replace Walmart’s existing online grocery service. It will allow customers to place their orders through Rakuten’s app, which will then be fulfilled by Walmart. In addition to using the existing Walmart’s existing Seiyu stores, it will build additional warehouses to help fulfill these orders.

Walmart is hoping that its partnership with Rakuten will allow it to expand into Japan’s growing online grocery market, which is less developed than it is in some other countries.

On the U.S. side of things, Walmart is taking advantage of Rakuten’s digital book service Kobo. Walmart will soon begin offering ebooks and audiobooks on its online store, allowing it to compete with the likes of Apple’s bookstore and Amazon’s Kindle.

According to Walmart’s blog, Kobo offers nearly six million books from thousands of different publishers, all of which will be available through Walmart’s website later this year. In addition to Kobo’s library of ebooks, of which Walmart will be one of the sole retailers, the company will also offer a selection of audiobooks. However, these will be arriving sometime after the ebooks.

The ebooks will be available via Walmart’s website, so consumers will have the option of purchasing a digital or hardcopy version while browsing the website.

Once purchased, the ebooks will be available on smartphones via an iOS and Android app. There will be a desktop version of the app as well. Walmart will also begin selling Kobo-branded eReaders later this year for those who want a dedicated device.

Walmart has said that it is positioning its upcoming catalog of ebooks as a supplement to its other digital content, such as movies and TV shows via Vudu or the time cards uses in MMOs such as World of Warcraft.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Business

Intuit QuickBooks summer savings have us excited for bookkeeping and more

Intuit QuickBooks Online and Payroll Indepence Day deals used by business owner

Being honest, accounting, bookkeeping, and various administrative tasks aren't exactly what most people would call exciting, even if they own a business. It's something you have to do, but not that you necessarily want to do. But you absolutely have to stay on top of it; otherwise, things could get out of hand later, like when you're filing taxes or trying to calculate expenses. As a leader in small business fintech, Intuit QuickBooks is helping over 7 million customers worldwide do precisely that. From a startup to scaling up, the Intuit QuickBooks ecosystem delivers products and services that are a core component of small business growth. Accounting, payroll, payments, capital, and even marketing assistance via Mailchimp are just a few examples of what you can expect from a QuickBooks subscription. Thanks to its current Summer Sale, you can save a never-before-seen 70% off Intuit QuickBooks plans. That offer and these prices excite us for something that, typically, wouldn't be considered exciting.

These Intuit QuickBooks Summer Savings are unprecedented
This is the first time we've ever seen prices this low, and it may actually be the only time it happens. Time will tell, but the point is that you can save big on QuickBooks plans that you need for your business. The deal offers 70% off QuickBooks Online for your first three months. With Simple Start -- the base plan -- you get your first three months for just $9 per month instead of $30. That saves you $21 monthly for $63 across your initial three months of service. By comparison, the Essentials tier is only $18 per month instead of $60, and the Plus tier is only $27 per month instead of $90. If you want to splurge and go with Advanced, it's only $60 monthly for your first three months instead of $20h. Those are some incredible savings.

Branded Content

Grammarly should be your next AI writing partner for all things text

Grammarly-featured-image-with-creative

Not everyone is a writer, and that's okay. However, we do a lot of writing throughout our lives, from essays and school papers to dissertations, work reports, letters, emails, and beyond. Even with the advent of digital platforms, there's still a lot of writing to be done. But some tools can help significantly, like Grammarly.

Despite what the name espouses, Grammarly helps you with a whole lot more than just basic writing structure and grammar. That's thanks to an integrated AI writing assistant that can enhance your writing skills and improve the quality of the content you create. You'll get real-time suggestions about grammar, spelling errors, punctuation, and style. Ultimately, that leads to better writing from you with the complete confidence and clarity of a skilled artisan. Let's take a closer look at what Grammarly has to offer, well, everyone.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.