Wal-Mart steps up online efforts in China as a key to future

Inside, on a recent visit, a reporter found six-packs of toilet paper and bottles of oil on the concrete floor next to piles of boxes filled with other groceries.

Wal-Mart has been stepping up its efforts to get a bigger share of China's overall online business, which now has surpassed the U.S. and dominates globally.

[...] Wal-Mart's overall online share is tiny in China, and some analysts say it's going to be hard to close the gap with the big Chinese giants like Alibaba and JD.com.

Online, Wal-Mart has just 1.6 percent of China's overall online market, ranking it as No. 6, well behind No. 1 powerhouse Alibaba 46.9 percent and second-ranked JD.com's 20.1 percent, according to Euromonitor International, a global research firm.

Wal-Mart's goal is to be among the top three overall by expanding the number of hubs and blending its online services with its stores.

Last year, it launched an app that lets shoppers order online and pick up the goods at the store in several southern cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan.

Getting its online business right is critical for Wal-Mart's overall success in China as the retailer, along with other big store rivals, wrestle with traffic declines at their stores.

Nearly half of Chinese shoppers, or 46 percent, are already buying groceries online for home delivery, compared to 25 percent globally, according to a consumer poll of 30,000 online respondents by Nielsen, a market research firm.

[...] 32 percent of its shoppers now buy imported goods, with the top three in dairy, biscuits and snacks like chips and seaweed.