In regard to objectives & issues in a marketing plan, what are Walmart's current issues that it faces in meeting its objectives....Please provide sources..... here are a few paragraphs describing Walmart's current 1st year and 5th year objectives that you may use to draw inspiration from in order to describe the current issues that it faces (please note that you may include issues that do not directly pertain to the following text which was provided to me by a previous tutor, just make sure they are specifically marketing issues): 

Walmart's marketing and customer value goals for the first year include increasing customer awareness and engagement, boosting the company's online presence, making products with lower prices, expanding customer loyalty programs, and using data and analytics to better predict customer needs. Walmart is also working on improving the mobile experience for its customers, growing its network of partners to offer more exclusive services, and making the customer experience more personal. All of these things are done to make more sales and give shoppers more value (Chen, et al., 2021)

Walmart's vision statement says that the company wants to "help customers save money and live better." This explains the company's marketing and customer value goals for the first year. To do this, Walmart is committed to giving customers what they want. It does this in several ways, such as making customers more aware and engaged, improving the company's online presence, offering everyday low pricing, expanding its customer loyalty programs, and using data and analytics to better predict what customers want.

First, Walmart wants to ensure that its target audiences are more aware of it and interested in it through traditional and digital media platforms. To do this, the company is putting money into marketing efforts, putting out new goods and services, and using digital outlets like social media to connect with current and future customers. Walmart is also working on improving its mobile experience by enhancing its mobile app.

Second, Walmart is committed to growing its online business so it can better meet the wants of its customers. Walmart must constantly enhance its omnichannel retailing to better integrate the purchasing experience by integrating online, in-store, and mobile shopping. Walmart offers in-store pick-up for online shoppers as well as two-day free delivery. By adding more products from third-party sellers, the company is working to make shopping easier and more integrated. It is also putting money into digital ads on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, and adding new features like automatic price matching and real-time updates on orders. Walmart is committed to making goods that are priced more cheaply and are made for specific types of customers. Customers will be able to buy high-quality and standard merchandise at a lower price because of Walmart's positioning as a discount and superstore.

Third, Walmart is also making its programs to keep customers coming back stronger. These programs offer prizes and benefits to encourage people to buy more from Walmart and become more loyal to the brand. Walmart is also putting money into data and analytics to better predict what customers will want and do. This includes using customer data to make focused marketing efforts, make personalized product suggestions, and offer deals and promotions that are more relevant to each customer (Chen, et al., 2021)

Lastly, Walmart is adding more partners to its environment so it can offer more unique services and events. Customers will get more out of their experience with these partners, such as savings, cash-back deals, and other benefits. Walmart is able to give customers more personalized service by working with third-party sellers. Walmart finds it more beneficial to rent AI and other services from Azure and Google's public clouds instead of building them. However, when comparing the three infrastructure-as-a-service (laaS) platforms, they are generally on par with one significant distinction: Walmart can provide its developers with computing, storage, and network resources at a lower cost (Gonsalves, 2022).

Walmart's First Year Objectives for marketing and giving customers more value are important if they want to boost sales and give users more value as the company seeks to obtain 7.6% in revenue growth. In the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, Walmart expects that its overall revenue or market size in global advertising will expand by more than 30% (Walmart, 2023). Walmart is well-positioned to keep doing well in the ever-changing retail world by making customers more aware of its goods, growing its online presence, making its prices more competitive, creating more customer reward programs, and using data and analytics.

To achieve the projected objective of seeing a 4% in sales growth and growing operating income at a faster rate in the next five years, adding over $130 billion in sales on top of its $600 billion base, Walmart adopts technology, improved logistics, optimal supplier training, skillful promotion, eliminating competition threats, and productive store solar systems (Walmart, 2023).