Walmart’s online retail website launched in 2000 under the name Walmart.com.
The website was created as Walmart expanded beyond its physical stores and began building a direct online shopping presence. It gave customers access to Walmart merchandise through the web while the company continued operating its large network of brick-and-mortar stores.
Walmart.com is the retail website name, not the name of the separate warehouse-club business Sam’s Club. Walmart also operated through corporate technology and e-commerce entities during its development, which can make early company histories seem more complicated than the consumer-facing brand suggests.
The launch date is generally identified as 2000. This is different from Walmart’s founding in 1962 and from later expansions involving online grocery pickup, marketplace sellers, and international sites.