????上周四，沃爾瑪（Wal-Mart）亮出了吸引網(wǎng)購(gòu)愛(ài)好者的最新武器Shopycat——使用這款社交應(yīng)用軟件，用戶可為朋友、家人或Facebook上任何通過(guò)個(gè)人興趣或其它背景聯(lián)系起來(lái)的人挑選禮品。

????零售商之間在實(shí)體店銷售領(lǐng)域的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)早已結(jié)束，沃爾瑪輕松取勝。但在爭(zhēng)奪電子商務(wù)市場(chǎng)的戰(zhàn)役中，沃爾瑪最大的對(duì)手可能就是它自己。目前，它正試圖讓旗下3,800家美國(guó)門店和幾百萬(wàn)雇員同沃爾瑪?shù)木W(wǎng)站W(wǎng)almart.com并肩作戰(zhàn)。雖然沃爾瑪?shù)姆较蚴钦_的——Shopycat的推出便是朝著這個(gè)方向邁出的最新一步，但是距離勝利還有很長(zhǎng)的路要走。

????雖然網(wǎng)購(gòu)市場(chǎng)銷售額總體呈現(xiàn)激增態(tài)勢(shì)，但沃爾瑪?shù)馁?gòu)物者并未大規(guī)模移師網(wǎng)絡(luò)。德銀證券（Deutsche Bank Securities）的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，網(wǎng)購(gòu)僅占沃爾瑪銷售額的2%，約80億美元。相比之下，2011年亞馬遜（Amazon）的營(yíng)收較上年躍升40%，已經(jīng)達(dá)到342億美元。

????這就是為什么沃爾瑪要重新定位，依托強(qiáng)大的實(shí)體店網(wǎng)絡(luò)來(lái)拓展網(wǎng)絡(luò)業(yè)務(wù)。消費(fèi)者可以前往沃爾瑪門店自取網(wǎng)上訂單，將網(wǎng)絡(luò)銷售業(yè)績(jī)歸于門店團(tuán)隊(duì)，讓他們成為數(shù)字銷售力量，并使得從本地門店派送網(wǎng)上購(gòu)買商品成為可能，這樣就能在發(fā)貨速度上打敗亞馬遜和其他網(wǎng)絡(luò)零售商。這意味著網(wǎng)絡(luò)應(yīng)用軟件和數(shù)字工具的集成，但同時(shí)也離不開實(shí)體店。

????“網(wǎng)絡(luò)銷售很有價(jià)值，實(shí)體店也很有價(jià)值，我們希望最終在這兩個(gè)領(lǐng)域都能做到最好，”領(lǐng)導(dǎo)@WalmartLabs的沃基?哈里那亞安說(shuō)，“而不只是其中某一個(gè)渠道?！?/p>

????說(shuō)到沃爾瑪?shù)奈磥?lái)，大多數(shù)人都會(huì)想到哈里那亞安負(fù)責(zé)的@WalmartLabs。這塊數(shù)字業(yè)務(wù)依托于4月份沃爾瑪耗費(fèi)3億美元收購(gòu)的社交廣告公司Kosmix。目前，工程師們正在馬不停蹄地開發(fā)類似Shopycat這樣的社交購(gòu)物應(yīng)用軟件，挖掘Facebook上的個(gè)人信息數(shù)據(jù)、做出禮物推薦。其次是一系列的社交應(yīng)用軟件，消費(fèi)者藉此可以相互聯(lián)系，也可以聯(lián)系沃爾瑪員工。當(dāng)然，顧客身處沃爾瑪實(shí)體店時(shí)也可以藉此尋找產(chǎn)品或?qū)で蠼ㄗh。

????但即便@WalmartLabs非常成功，單憑社交應(yīng)用軟件也不能使沃爾瑪成為網(wǎng)購(gòu)市場(chǎng)的強(qiáng)大競(jìng)爭(zhēng)者。如果沃爾瑪想在網(wǎng)購(gòu)市場(chǎng)獲勝，它獲勝的根本應(yīng)該是其實(shí)體店，而不僅僅只是擁有這些實(shí)體店。

????Wal-Mart launches its latest weapon today in the battle to win online shoppers -- Shopycat, a social app that makes gift selections for friends, family or anyone connected through Facebook based on their interests and profile.

????Certainly the war of the Big Box retailers is over and Wal-Mart won, hands down. But in the war for online sales, Wal-Mart's greatest adversary may be itself as it attempts to get its 3,800 U.S. stores and millions of employees working together with Walmart.com. Although the retailer is taking steps in the right direction -- Shopycat its latest -- it still has a long way to go.

????As online sales have soared overall, Wal-Mart (WMT) shoppers have failed to flock to the web in any sizeable number – online sales are estimated to account for just 2% of its revenue according to Deutsche Bank Securities, or about $8 billion. By comparison, Amazon's revenue leapt 40% in 2011 from the year prior to $34.2 billion.

????That's why Wal-Mart has a renewed focus on leveraging its massive bricks-and-mortar presence to re-invent itself online. That means pushing customers to pick up online orders at Wal-Mart's stores, crediting store teams with online sales to turn them into a digital sales force and potentially delivering items purchased online from the local Wal-Mart, hitting Amazon and other e-tailers on their speed of delivery. And it also means a hybrid of online apps and digital tools -- but only when they fold in with offline too.

????"There's a lot of value that we get online and a lot of value in the physical store, and at the end of the day we expect the best of both worlds," says Venky Harinarayan, who heads @WalmartLabs. "It's not going to be one channel."

????Harinarayan's division, @WalmartLabs, is what most people think about when they consider Wal-Mart's future. The Wonka-esque digital outpost launched from Wal-Mart's $300 million purchase of a social advertising hybrid Kosmix in April. There, engineers are busy churning out social shopping apps, such as Shopycat, which makes gift recommendations by data-mining Facebook profiles. Next up are a raft of social apps that will let customers connect with each other and to Wal-Mart staff, as well as find products or ideas when they are physically in a Wal-Mart store.

????But even if @WalmartLabs is wildly successful, social apps alone won't make Wal-Mart an online contender. If the retailer wants to win online, it will happen because -- and not in spite of -- its physical boxes.