<p>Wal-Mart is getting a leg up against its online rival Amazon. Wal-Mart’s online sales growth rose by <B>30% to $10 billion</b> during the year ended January 31, beating out Amazon’s <B>20% sales growth</b> during the year ended December 31, according to The Wall Street Journal. This is the <B>first time</b> in a decade Wal-Mart's online sales growth beat out Amazon's. Data from trade publication Internet Retailer reveals that although Amazon’s web sales are still <B>six times larger</b> than Wal-Mart’s, the company is continuing to invest heavily in its online presence to better position itself against the online retailer.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">According to Internet Retailer, Wal-Mart has acquired <B>Adchemy</b> today, a search engine marketing company that <B>helps retailers optimize their use of search terms</b>. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. This acquisition could possibly help the company better compete against Amazon and Google, both of which are already battling it out in the online retailing space.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">So far, Wal-Mart has invested approximately <B>$500 million</b> into e-commerce in the year ended January 31, constructing new online fulfillment centers in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Brazil, and hiring 1,000 employees in Silicon Valley. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart said it planned to invest an additional <B>$150 million</b> on e-commerce and reach <B>$13 billion</b> in online sales in 2014. We have also recently reported that Wal-Mart is also launching a new grocery pick-up center amid the recent growing trend of the “click-and-collect” format. I can only imagine what other plans Wal-Mart has in store for its e-commerce division at this point.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.andnowuknow.com/whats-store/wal-mart-launch-new-grocery-pick-center/11692/jordan-okumura" target="_new"> Click here to read: Wal-Mart to Launch New Grocery Pick-Up Center </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>In January, Neil Ashe, Chief Executive of Wal-Mart’s global e-commerce division, estimated that the company would be able to match Amazon’s range of products and quick shipping times within <B>two years</b>. Even though Amazon's sales are still larger, Wal-Mart is proving to be a worthy adversary if this rate of sales growth is anything to consider.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we keep an eye on Wal-Mart’s growth in the e-commerce sector. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://corporate.walmart.com" target="_new"> Wal-Mart </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
