Amazon Goes for a Drive; Walmart Leans Into Health and Wellness

Amazon and Walmart are each carving out new territories in response to consumer demands, but their approaches are quite different.

Amazon is focusing on the automotive industry, particularly through connected vehicles, while Walmart is concentrating on expanding its health and wellness offerings. Both companies are leveraging their vast ecosystems, but where Amazon is leveraging its technology to reshape car-buying experiences, Walmart is strengthening its impact on community health through accessible services.

At CES 2025, Amazon expanded its expanding efforts in the connected car space, showcasing new partnerships with BMW, Qualcomm, and Valeo to elevate in-car experiences through advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and Alexa-powered assistants. Amazon’s collaboration with BMW centers on integrating intelligent, voice-activated systems into vehicles, while its partnership with Qualcomm aims to improve in-car AI. Additionally, Amazon is working with Valeo to advance software-defined vehicles (SDVs), pushing the automotive industry toward greater connectivity and personalization.

Meanwhile, Walmart will host its first Wellness Day of 2025 Saturday (Jan. 11), offering free health screenings and affordable immunizations at nearly 4,600 pharmacies across the country. Customers can receive screenings for glucose, cholesterol, blood pressure and BMI, as well as vaccines for flu, COVID-19 and other conditions. The event also includes the opportunity to speak with pharmacists about health topics like maintaining a healthy lifestyle and medications. Since 2014, Walmart’s Wellness Days have provided more than 5 million free screenings, particularly benefiting rural and underserved communities where medical access is limited.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Arias Websterberry, CEO of WebsterBerry Marketing, offered thoughts on Amazon and Walmart’s ventures.

“By harnessing generative AI, Amazon is truly going to transform software-defined vehicles into smarter and most likely more intuitive systems,” he explained. “This isn’t just about improving EV charging, it’s about creating a seamless ecosystem to integrate into every aspect of the user journey. This is a strategic move that puts Amazon at the forefront of innovation when it comes to EVs, while it’s also redefining the customer experience.”

On Walmart’s focus on healthcare, Websterberry said, “It’s absolutely a game-changer for community health access. By hosting events like Walmart Wellness Day, they’re leveraging their unparalleled retail footprint that allows them to deliver essential health services to the masses. This approach not only is going to drive an enormous amount of foot traffic, but it also positions Walmart as a trusted partner in the preventative and primary care market. It’s a strategic move, and this evolution is going to reflect the growing kind of convergence of retail and healthcare.”

Meanwhile, in an interview with PYMNTS, Zachary Robichaud, instructor, School of Retail Management, Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University, said the collaboration between Honda and AWS “highlights the industry’s shift toward digitization, enabling automakers to develop vehicles that adapt to consumer preferences, enhance safety, and optimize energy use. his integration of technology and consumer-centric design paves the way for a more connected, efficient, and inclusive mobility future.”

Regarding Walmart, Robichaud explained Walmart’s Wellness Day “empowers individuals to take charge of their health in a convenient and cost-effective way. Initiatives like this help create healthier communities and address gaps in healthcare accessibility.”

Here’s a look at other notable developments from Amazon and Walmart in the past week:

Amazon Highlights

• Amazon Unveils New Products at CES 2025: Amazon released new products and announced new partnerships this week at CES 2025 across smart home, entertainment, automotive, and AI sectors. Key highlights include Ring and Kidde’s smart smoke and CO alarms with real-time alerts and 24/7 monitoring, along with 2K upgrades for Ring cameras. Panasonic expanded its Fire TV integration with three new smart TV models featuring Alexa controls. In automotive, Amazon partnered with BMW for Alexa-powered assistants, Qualcomm to enhance in-car AI, and Valeo to support software-defined vehicles.
• AWS to Invest $11B in Infrastructure Expansion in Georgia: Amazon Web Services announced plans to invest at least $11 billion in expanding its infrastructure in Georgia, focusing on cloud computing and AI technologies. The expansion includes AI infrastructure to support generative AI and data centers.

Walmart Highlights

• Walmart Announces Store Closures: Walmart announced the closure of a number of U.S. stores due to low sales. The closures in California, Maryland, Ohio, Georgia and Wisconsin, are part of a strategy to optimize operations in response to economic challenges. While the company is not facing major financial losses, it plans to focus on more profitable markets and use technology to enhance growth. Walmart is helping affected employees, but the closures have raised concerns about the loss of essential services in these areas.
• Walmart Targets Grocery Business: Walmart is remodeling its produce sections and expanding its food offerings to attract more cost-conscious shoppers, according to Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey. In the past three years, the retailer has remodeled an average of 700 stores annually, with plans for more updates this year. These renovated stores feature improved layouts, expanded product selections, and updated signage, paint and shopping carts.

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