Retail giant Walmart is buying Art.com to build on its home decor business. The value of this deal was undisclosed. And this deal is expected to close next year.
Through this acquisition, it enables Walmart to generate business from a younger audience who prefer shopping online rather than going to stores. There are more than 2 million designs that consumers can choose from on Art.com.
Art.com is one of the largest online retailers of art and wall decor in the world. And Art.com was reportedly generating over $300 million in sales per year. Art.com also has three sister sites including allposters.com, poster.de, and artist rising. Artist Rising enables artists and photographers to sell their work through a number of channels.
Photo Credit: Art.com
Over the last few years, Walmart has been aggressively buying e-commerce companies such as Jet.com for $3 billion in 2016. Walmart has also purchased brands like Bare Necessities, Bonobos, Eloquii, ModCloth, and Moosejaw.
“This announcement is just another example of how we’re establishing Walmart.com as a specialty retail destination for the home – giving customers the inspiration and confidence to make a beautiful home possible for everyone. I’m so excited to welcome Art.com as a part of that mission,” said Walmart’s SVP of online home business in the U.S. Anthony Soohoo in a statement.
And Soohoo said that 25% of Art.com’s customers use a feature called ArtView, according to CNBC. ArtView allows shoppers to see what artwork look like on their walls through augmented reality before buying it.
Walmart will be selling products from Art.com on its websites including Walmart.com, Jet.com, and Hayneedle.com. And Art.com is still going to continue to run. Walmart’s head of U.S. e-commerce Marc Lore said that the company could one day own about 40 digitally native brands.
