Raphael Stevens

Dave Roberts is one of the most powerful executives at ESPN, and he’s pushing for more diversity at the network.
Roberts, who rose steadily through ESPN’s ranks over nearly two decades, is the network’s head of studio programming. He also oversees NBA programming, including the NBA Finals.
ESPN says viewers watched 20 billion minutes around its NBA programming in the first season under Roberts.

Dave Roberts
Provided by ESPN

Dave Roberts is a creature of habit.
The ESPN executive, who has emerged as an influential force behind the scenes at the network, prefers to take business meetings at the Four Seasons, for instance.

In 2015, sports media personality and regular ESPN panelist Bomani Jones was in Los Angeles to attend the network’s ESPY Awards ceremony and planned to meet with Roberts. According to Jones, Roberts initially agreed to meet him at his hotel. Instead, Roberts arrived in a cab, called him and said, according to Jones, “Man, let’s go to the Four Seasons!”
“Dave likes the Four Seasons because it works, and it’s proven,” Jones said.
Told of the story, Roberts said to CNBC, “I like certain routines.”
Another routine: He starts every day on a treadmill around 4:30 a.m. It’s an important habit, but not just for him. That’s where he contemplates what sports fans will be watching throughout the day on Disney-owned sports network ESPN.
“The editorial optics,” Roberts said. “The time on that treadmill allows me to think.”

Roberts, who rose steadily through ESPN’s ranks over nearly two decades, is the network’s head of studio programming. He will have a major say in how the NBA Finals, which start Thursday night, will be broadcast on sister network ABC but led by ESPN talent both behind and in front of the camera. This has been Roberts’ first season overseeing NBA programming.
The finals matchup should draw a big audience. The Jayson Tatum-led Boston Celtics, one of the NBA’s classic franchises, are taking on Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, who are seeking to reestablish their dynasty of the 2010s.
Roberts said ESPN has a “comprehensive plan” for the NBA Finals. It includes Snapchat, where Roberts said 1.4 million people daily watch ESPN content, and deploying the network’s “different group of talent,” including Stephen A. Smith.
Roberts’ description didn’t sound like anything unusual, fitting his creature of habit label. But over the long term, he has a more significant challenge. Roberts wants to use ESPN as a model to improve diversity and change the landscape of industry hiring practices. ESPN has faced criticism over how it has handled diversity issues and racial controversies, prompting the network president, Jimmy Pitaro, to defend the company’s track record.
Roberts, for his part, said he thinks building on diversity efforts could be a way of meeting Pitaro’s goal of growing the network’s audience – and revenue.
“You cannot serve any market if you don’t have quality diversity in every area of an organization,” Roberts said.

Who is Dave Roberts?

Roberts is responsible for studio shows including “SportsCenter,” “Get Up,” “First Take,” “Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interruption,” as well as NBA programming. He reports directly to Pitaro.
The average fan doesn’t know Roberts, and he likes it that way. He even declined to provide his age during an interview with CNBC days before the finals would begin.
But he’s known where it counts.
“The people in the business know who he is,” said longtime sports journalist and Fox Sports radio host Rob Parker. “A guy that has insight and power. A guy who gets it.”
Roberts grew up in Detroit. At age 11, he started wanting to be a TV reporter. According to his ESPN profile, he graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in mass communications before starting his career at a local Detroit TV station in 1978.

Juan Toscano-Anderson #95 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket during the game against the Boston Celtics on MARCH 16, 2022 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
Jed Jacobsohn | National Basketball Association | Getty Images

In 1982, Roberts said, he took advice and switched to TV management. There, Roberts figured, he could have influence. “Once I made that move in my career,” Roberts said, “I’ve been in a position where I can really impact what really mattered to me most.”
Roberts joined ESPN in 2004 as a coordinating producer, and rose through the ranks to oversee the ESPN radio division in 2018.
Now a bigger figure in ESPN’s management, his job is to grow revenue and attract a younger audience. ESPN says viewers watched 20 billion minutes around its NBA programming in the first season under Roberts. That’s up from 17 billion minutes during the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season. 
Roberts is also tasked with growing ESPN+, which had more than 21 million subscribers as of February 2022. ESPN is betting exclusive content, including a “reimagined” version of trivia show “SportsNation” and a new NBA-focused streaming show, will help attract subscribers.
“In this business,” said Roberts, “it’s about ratings and revenue.” He added that Pitaro has made it “real clear to all of us that audience expansion and growth” is a top priority.

Growth through diversity

Roberts believes increasing diversity is a crucial part of his job.
He said wants to see more people of color in prominent roles – more producers, more executives. The product, he said, “will take care of itself.”
“The time for excuses on why you can’t diversify your workforce and put African Americans and other persons of color in decision-making roles must end,” Roberts said. “There can’t be any more excuses.”
His concern about diversity and fair treatment in the workplace comes from the discrimination he said he experienced in 1978. At the time, he was working at the National Bank of Detroit to pay for college.
Roberts filed a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination within the bank’s hiring and promotion practices. He said he noticed the inequality after seeing most of the Black employees at the bank working on floors occupied by the lowest-paid positions.
The lawsuit grew to more than 40 people and was eventually settled in February 1982 for $250,000. But it still fuels Roberts’ desire to “open doors” and achieve “real diversity.” 
ESPN addresses diversity concerns with “much more than just lip service,” Roberts said. He also praised Pitaro for frequently discussing diversity in meetings and inquiring about “the makeup of people working on shows.”
Roberts pointed to the diversity on shows such as “First Take” and “NBA Countdown.” Female viewership has increased, too, he said.

The time for excuses on why you can’t diversify your workforce and put African Americans and other persons of color in decision-making roles must end.

Dave Roberts
ESPN executive

Jones said the changes are noticeable.
“When you put something under his purview, chances are it will become much more diverse,” Jones said – but “not at the expense of the bottom line.”
Roberts has had to deal with his share of controversy at ESPN, as well. He had input in the decision to part ways with former ESPN host Rachel Nichols, who is white, in August after she made controversial comments about then ESPN host Maria Taylor, who is Black.
In December 2020, Roberts also had a significant voice in replacing anchor Sage Steele with Elle Duncan on ESPN’s evening “SportsCenter” edition. The network said that switch was due to “providing new opportunities.” Before that, Roberts’ favored canceling “SC6,” also known as “The Six,” a revamped version of “SportsCenter” that featured former ESPN hosts Michael Smith and Jemele Hill. (Taylor and Smith are now with NBC Sports.)
And that decision accompanies its own controversy. In 2018, Roberts was accused of saying “SC6” was “too black,” which the network denied. In the interview with CNBC, Roberts didn’t discuss specifics about why he favored overhauling those shows but called the moves “tough decisions.”
He added, that people need to “understand that once you get these responsibilities, you have to deliver the results. That includes me.”
Jones, who also had an ESPN program canceled, offered his take on Roberts’ management approach.
“If he’s on board with what you’re doing, he’s going to push it and support it,” Jones said. But if results don’t follow, Jones added, “chances are he’s going to find something else.”
There could be more changes on the way under Roberts’ watch, too. While ESPN wouldn’t attempt to mimic Turner Sports’ more freewheeling NBA shows, Roberts said, ESPN’s NBA programming wouldn’t get complacent either.
“Every day,” Roberts said, “you have to look for more ways to be creative and innovative.” He added, “You constantly have to be nimble and ready to make course corrections if necessary.”
Maybe he isn’t such a creature of habit, after all.
“It doesn’t mean that you’re a creature of habit in everything you do or think,” Roberts said. “If that were the case, I would still be trying to be a reporter somewhere.”
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports.

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Sheryl Sandberg leaves Meta after more than $1.7 billion of stock sales.
Sandberg is one of the rare non-CEOs and non-founders to become a billionaire.
Over the past decade, Sandberg has sold more than three-quarters of her shares through regularly scheduled share sale programs, according to research firms that track the sales.

Sheryl Sandberg leaves Meta as one of the highest-profile and most successful women in tech — and after more than $1.7 billion in stock sales.
Sandberg announced Wednesday that she is stepping down from her role as chief operating officer after 14 years at Meta, formerly known as Facebook. Sandberg will remain on the social media company’s board.

Sandberg’s wealth totals an estimated $1.6 billion, according to Forbes, making her the second wealthiest woman in tech after Meg Whitman. Whitman previously held the top job at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and is worth an estimated $3.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Sandberg is also one of the rare non-CEOs and non-founders to become a billionaire.
While many corporate executives tend to hold on to the bulk of their shares as a show of confidence in their companies, Sandberg has been an aggressive and consistent seller of Facebook (now Meta) stock.
Over the past decade, Sandberg has sold over 75% of her after-tax shares through regularly scheduled share sale programs, according to research firms that track the sales. In total, she sold over 22 million shares for more than $1.7 billion, according to analytics firm VerityData. Depending on the treatment of options and restricted stock sales, the total could actually be higher, according to another analytics firm, Smart Insider, which calculates her stock sales at closer to $1.9 billion.
“Her sales over the past decade makes her one of the biggest insider sellers at any U.S. company,” said Ben Silverman, director of research at VerityData.

A spokesperson for Sandberg said she acquired 48 million restricted stock units, options and shares during her time at the company. About 20 million were sold for taxes, and she sold 22 million of the remaining 28 million through a 10b5-1 pre-schedule selling program.
Sandberg cashed out shares at a wide range of prices as Facebook shares soared. The stock priced at $38 per share in the company’s initial public offering in 2012 and peaked above $382 per share in September.
Sandberg’s average stock sale price over the past decade was $79.10 per share, according to VerityData, with her most recent sale in October 2019.
Despite her billionaire status, Sandberg hasn’t shown the penchant for yachts, private jets and beach homes shown by other tech tycoons. According to media reports, in 2013 she moved into a newly built, 9,200-square-foot home in Menlo Park, California, close to Facebook’s headquarters, that features a wine room, gym, waterfall and solar panels on the roof.
Sandberg has also gifted some of the proceeds of her sales to charity. In 2016, she gave $107.2 million to her donor-advised fund at Fidelity Charitable. At the time she didn’t say which charities she would fund, but has said she plans to support programs that increase opportunities for women and girls.
Sandberg’s spokesperson said she had made total reportable gifts of 4.9 million shares, with 2.8 million shares to her donor-advised fund and 2.1 million irrevocable transfers to trusts for beneficiaries. Smart Insider estimates Sandberg has given away $484 million in shares.
In announcing her departure on Wednesday, Sandberg said the decision to leave Meta will allow her to focus more on her philanthropic work.
Sandberg has also been an active political donor, contributing to Democratic candidates and frequently hosting Democratic fundraisers.
She still owns nearly 1.5 million shares, with a current market value of about $290 million, in a revocable trust. She also has 333,642 shares of unvested restricted stock, some of which may vest before she leaves.
Meta shares closed on Wednesday at $188.64.

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Ford’s U.S. sales fell just 4.5% in May, while the overall industry was likely down about 30%.
Sales of F-Series pickups and the Mustang Mach-E EV were both up last month from a year ago.
Demand remains very high for new Ford models including the Bronco and Bronco Sport SUV and the small Maverick pickup.

The Mustang Mach-E is Ford’s first new all-electric vehicle under an $11 billion investment plan in electrified vehicles through 2022.
Michael Wayland / CNBC

Ford Motor said Thursday that its U.S. sales fell just 4.5% in May from a year ago, a narrower decline than in recent months, as it continued to see white-hot demand for its latest vehicles amid tight supplies of new cars, trucks and SUVs.
Ford and other automakers are continuing to fight through supply-chain issues, including a global shortage of semiconductor chips, that has hampered new vehicle production around the world for over a year. Ford’s monthly U.S. sales were down by over 10% in April and by more than 20% in February and March.

A Ford spokesperson said the company estimates that overall U.S. new vehicle sales were down about 30% from a year ago in May, meaning that Ford likely gained market share.
Ongoing disruptions to Ford’s manufacturing have led to tight inventories at its dealers. In response, Ford has offered incentives to customers who are willing to place orders for their vehicles and wait for them to be built and delivered. Almost half of Ford’s retail sales in May came from customer orders placed earlier in the year, the company said in a statement.
With chip supplies still limited, Ford has been prioritizing production of its newest models, including the electric Mustang Mach-E crossover, the Bronco SUV, and the small Maverick pickup, as well as its highly profitable mainstays, such as the F-Series pickups and the large Ford and Lincoln SUVs.
Sales of Ford’s F-Series pickups, an important driver of the company’s profits, were up 6.9% in May from a year ago. Deliveries of the Mustang Mach-E were more than double the model’s year-ago total.
From January through May, Ford has sold 763,558 vehicles in the U.S., down 13.3% from the same period in 2021.

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A New York appeals court has upheld Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes conviction.
The unanimous ruling by a five-justice appellate panel found the trial judge’s actions were appropriate and did not warrant overturning Weinstein’s 23-year sentence.
Weinstein was convicted in 2020 in New York before being extradited to Los Angeles to await trial on 11 additional sex crimes charges.

Former film producer Harvey Weinstein listens in court during a pre-trial hearing for Weinstein, who was extradited from New York to Los Angeles to face sex-related charges in Los Angeles, California on July 29, 2021.
Etienne Laurent | AFP | Getty Images

A New York appeals court has upheld Harvey Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault conviction, rejecting the disgraced media mogul’s appeal that suggested a judge unfairly tilted the outcome of his trial in favor of the prosecution.
The unanimous ruling by a five-justice appellate panel found the judge’s actions were appropriate and did not warrant overturning Weinstein’s 23-year sentence.

Weinstein was convicted in 2020 in New York before being extradited to Los Angeles to await trial on 11 additional sex crimes charges.
Weinstein’s appeal was filed in April 2021, a little more than a year after he was convicted of a first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. The arguments were rejected in a 45-page ruling published Thursday.
“We are obviously disappointed in the court’s decision and look forward to asking the Court of Appeals to review what we believe are substantial meritorious legal issues,” said Barry Kamins, a partner at Aidala, Bertuna and Kamins who represents Weinstein, in a statement. “Mr. Weinstein will continue to pursue all available legal remedies to establish that he did not receive a fair trial.”
Weinstein’s attorneys had argued in his appeal that errors by the trial judge made it impossible for Weinstein to receive a fair trial. They also said prosecutors should not have been allowed to call witnesses to testify about conduct for which Weinstein wasn’t charged. And they said one juror should have been removed from the case because she wrote a book that involved “predatory men” and misled the court about the book’s contents.
In the ruling Thursday, Justice Angela Mazzarelli wrote on behalf of the court that the trial judge had used discretion in the material allowed during the trial. She also noted that while the juror’s novel was about teenage girls who have a relationship with an older man, the situation depicted wasn’t predatory.
“We perceive no basis for reducing the sentence, and we have considered defendant’s remaining arguments and find them unavailing,” Mazzarelli wrote.

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Workers United is creating a $1 million fund to support Starbucks baristas who go on strike.
The fund will give workers more firepower in their fight to unionize and collectively bargain.
As of Tuesday, 100 Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Workers United.

A protester waves a sign that read "unionize" near the Country Club Plaza Starbucks store where dozens of Starbucks employees and union supporters protested alleged anti-union tactics by the company Thursday, March 3, 2022.
Jill Toyoshiba | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

The union backing organizing efforts at Starbucks is creating a $1 million fund to cover lost pay for baristas who go on strike, giving workers more firepower in their fight to unionize.
The financial backing comes amid a nationwide unionization push that has already included workers at some Starbucks locations staging walkouts and strikes. In Boston, employees at a store went on strike Tuesday after having to work through a water leak. In Columbia, South Carolina, workers walked out for three days in protest of alleged anti-union retaliation.

Once it’s established, the strike fund could lead to more frequent and longer-lasting strikes since baristas won’t have to worry about the near-term financial repercussions.
“This strike fund will allow all workers to take the type of collective action necessary as they fight for a fair contract,” said Richard Minter, Workers United’s international organizing director.
Workers United is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, which represents roughly 2 million members. Its size provides access to crucial resources for Starbucks organizers, who are facing off against a coffee chain that reported $29.1 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year.
As of Tuesday, 100 Starbucks cafes have voted to unionize under Workers United, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Only 14 locations have voted against unionizing, giving the union a win rate of 88%. Roughly 120 other locations are waiting on their elections or are currently voting.
Starbucks and its interim CEO Howard Schultz are trying to curb the union push. Last month, the company announced it will hike wages for tenured workers and double training for new employees, but it won’t offer the enhanced benefits to workers at unionized cafes.
Starbucks is also facing allegations of union busting, which the company denies. Workers United has filed 175 complaints against the coffee chain for unfair labor practices, according to NLRB tallies. The labor board has issued nine complaints of its own against Starbucks.

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Ford is adding 6,200 hourly union jobs at three midwestern U.S. plants.
Another 3,000 temp workers will become full-time union employees immediately.
The moves will support increased production of the electric F-150 Lightning, the Transit van and all-new versions of the Mustang and Ranger pickup.

Ford Mustangs go through assembly at the Ford Flat Rock Assembly Plant August 20, 2015 in Flat Rock, Michigan.
Getty Images

Ford Motor said Thursday that it will add about 6,200 union jobs in the Midwest as it revamps three factories to build new electric and gas-powered models, including a new seventh-generation version of the Mustang coupe.
The factory investments, expected to cost $3.7 billion, will go toward retooling plants to build a new commercial electric vehicle and all-new versions of the gas-powered Ford Mustang and Ford Ranger. Ford will also add workers to increase production of Ford Transit commercial vans and Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickups.

The company didn’t provide any details about the new electric commercial vehicle, except to say that its production will begin “mid-decade” at an existing plant in Ohio.  
In addition to the new jobs, nearly 3,000 temporary factory employees will be made full-time hourly employees ahead of a schedule negotiated with the United Auto Workers, said Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford’s “Ford Blue” internal-combustion business, in a media briefing.
All of those employees will get pay raises and health-care benefits immediately, Galhotra said.
As a result of talks with the UAW, Ford said it will also spend $1 billion over the next five years on workplace improvements in U.S. factories, including better lighting in parking lots and more food options in cafeterias.
The wins for the union come as many U.S. companies are struggling to hire workers and as inflation is fueling Americans’ uncertainty about their finances.

It’s unusual for a Detroit automaker to grant significant concessions to UAW-represented workers outside of the contract-renewal process, which happens every four years. The current labor deal between Ford and the UAW isn’t up for renewal until September 2023.
The moves may be intended to ease the union’s concerns about two massive new Ford electric-vehicle factory campuses, in Kentucky and Tennessee, that might not have UAW representation. Both states are so-called “right-to-work” states and Ford has said it will allow its hourly workers in those states to choose whether they want to be represented by the union.

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Walmart is increasingly relying on its vast network of stores to build out its e-commerce business.
“The store is becoming a shoppable fulfillment center,” Tom Ward, chief e-commerce officer for Walmart U.S., said in his first interview since stepping into the role.
Walmart is using its stores as launch pads for delivery drones and departure locations for direct-to-fridge drop-offs, and it will soon start packing and shipping third-party sellers’ goods from stores.
The retailer faces a stiff challenge in e-commerce, as Amazon dominates with nearly 40% market share and inflation pushes shoppers to spend more on less-profitable gas and food.

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas — Walmart’s cavernous stores are known for aisles of low-priced groceries, paper towels and apparel.
Now, those big boxes are hubs for its e-commerce business, serving as launch pads for delivery drones, automated warehouses for online grocery orders and departure locations for direct-to-fridge drop-offs. Eventually, they will help pack and ship goods for individuals and independent companies that sell on Walmart’s website through its third-party marketplace.

“The store is becoming a shoppable fulfillment center,” Tom Ward, chief e-commerce officer for Walmart U.S., said in his first interview since stepping into the role. “And if the store acts like the fulfillment center, we can send those items the shortest distance in the fastest time.”
Walmart is leaning into two key advantages to drive its e-commerce business: its roughly 4,700 stores across the United States and its dominance in the grocery business. Ninety percent of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart store. The company is the largest grocer in the U.S. by revenue. Walmart wants to expand its assortment of merchandise, improve the customer experience and increase the density of delivery routes to turn e-commerce into a bigger business.
The Covid-19 pandemic created an opening for Walmart to expand its online business. The retailer’s e-commerce sales surged, helped in large part by the curbside pickup service it launched years before other retailers scrambled to set on up during the pandemic. One dollar out of $4 that Americans spent on click-and-collect orders last year went to Walmart — more than any other retailer, according to an Insider Intelligence estimate.
The global health crisis also fueled Walmart’s sense of urgency to better compete with Amazon, the clear leader in e-commerce. Amazon has 39.5% of online market share in the U.S. compared with Walmart’s 7%, according to estimates by research firm eMarketer. Last year, based on the 12-month period from June 2020 to June 2021, consumers spent more money at Amazon than the big-box retailer for the first time, according to company filings and estimates by the financial research firm FactSet.
But the e-commerce environment has gotten tougher in recent months. Gains have slowed dramatically as more customers return to stores. Even Amazon saw stagnating numbers in the most recent quarter, reporting its slowest sales growth rate in about two decades.

Plus, as Walmart’s fuel and freight costs mount and inflation hovers at a near four-decade high, customers are buying less of general merchandise, like new clothes, because more of their money is going toward groceries and gas. Food sales have lower margins, making it harder to profit from online sales.
Walmart’s shares sank last month, as it missed quarterly earnings expectations and slashed its outlook for profits. It marked the retailer’s worst day on Wall Street since October 1987.
Even with that backdrop, Ward said Walmart benefits from having a reputation for value. “Price is critical for our customers,” he said. “They trust us to bring them the lowest prices. And there’s 60 years of experience of managing that in this business.”

Leaning on stores

Tom Ward, chief e-commerce officer for Walmart U.S., said he wants to make it easy for customers to shop however they choose. To do that, Walmart is using its thousands of stores to increase delivery speeds and decrease company costs.
Erin Black | CNBC

Ward said his vision for the business is straightforward: to grow online sales while making it easy for customers to shop however they choose.
The company’s vast number of stores allows Walmart to outmatch its competitors, he said. For example, the retailer can pinpoint the nearest store to a customer who searches online for a printer. Instead of sending the printer from a fulfillment center hundreds of miles away, a team of personal shoppers at the store can pack it, pass that to a delivery driver in Walmart’s network and send a notification to the customer to say the product is on the way.
“It might arrive in a handful of hours after they bought it online, as opposed to a couple of days later,” he said. “So it’s a transformational experience in terms of speed, which is really hard to replicate without that fantastic footprint that we have.”
Walmart has 31 fulfillment centers across the U.S. — but more than 3,500 stores, or about 75% of its total locations, fulfill online orders that would be otherwise routed through an fulfillment center. What’s more, the company said it can reach 80% of the U.S. population with same-day delivery. 
Walmart hopes using its stores will woo third-party sellers, too.
Independent sellers who sign up for Walmart’s third-party marketplace can pay for Walmart Fulfillment Services, a business that provides supply chain services from storage to shipping from the retailer’s warehouses. That division is led by an Amazon veteran, Jare Buckley-Cox.
Walmart will soon start packing and sending third-party sellers’ goods from stores, which will make deliveries faster and more cost effective, according to Buckley-Cox. She didn’t specify a timeline for that service, but said it’s coming in the “near future.”
Sellers who gain popularity on the company’s website have a chance to make it on to store shelves, too, she said.

Online evolution

The rapid acceleration of online shopping on Walmart’s website and through its app magnified some of its challenges.
The retailer had two apps — one dedicated to online grocery shopping and another for general merchandise, from socks to camping chairs. Last summer, it merged the two together into a single app.
The company also had separate teams of buyers for its stores and for its website, which led to conflicting assortment and pricing. The two teams were blended into one shortly before the pandemic.
In addition, some customers got confused or frustrated by the strange ways Walmart fulfilled purchases in the same online order. This spring, a member of Walmart’s e-commerce team experienced that firsthand when ordering dinner ingredients for Taco Tuesday. Taco fixings arrived through home delivery that day, but the taco seasoning came in the mail days later.
Over the past two weeks, Walmart has rolled out a change meant to eliminate that issue, Ward said. When customers fire up the app to shop, they choose if they want items through shipping, pickup or delivery. Depending on that choice, assortment is tailored to what items — such as taco seasoning — are actually on hand.

A package moves along a conveyor belt inside a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fulfillment center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

“We don’t want to show any friction. We don’t want to show any plumbing,” Ward said. “We want to solve all the magic behind the scenes and make it seamless so they can buy a filet steak and a bag of apples and a T-shirt and a microwave and they can get it fulfilled anywhere that they want to get it fulfilled.”
Another emerging piece of Walmart’s plans is its drone delivery service, which Walmart will expand to 37 stores across six states by the end of the year. That development will enable it to reach 4 million households, according to the company.
Down on the ground, Walmart wants every delivery driver in its network to have densely packed routes with numerous stops in every neighborhood. That commitment led to the launch of GoLocal last year, which allows mom-and-pop shops and publicly traded companies, including Home Depot, to use Walmart’s independent drivers to drop off online purchases.
“A driver might pull up to one of our stores and receive a handful of packages for Walmart customers, they might then go and pick up a handful of packages for a different business or company’s customers, then they’ll follow a highly optimized route, which takes advantage of that density and brings the cost down,” Ward said.
Its membership program, Walmart+, is another way the retailer is trying to score more online sales. The $98-per-year service includes free shipping of online purchases and free grocery deliveries to the home for orders of $35 or more. On Thursday, Walmart kicks off Walmart+ Weekend, a new sales event that resembles Amazon’s Prime Day with deals only available for members.

Walmart in your house

A key part of the retailer’s e-commerce strategy counts on a high level of customer trust.
With Walmart’s InHome service, employees walk into strangers’ homes and put food directly into the fridge or on the kitchen counter — often leaving behind a sticky note to thank customers for their business and remind them they’ve stopped by.
Along with groceries, customers can order clothing, toys and other items that get delivered to the home. They can leave out returns for Walmart employees to take back to stores, too.
“People start to really think of their InHome associate as like an extension of the team that is helping them get through their workweek or their their home week,” said Whitney Pegden, vice president and general manager of InHome. “And so they’re like, oh, my gosh, you’re here, can you walk the dog? Can you take out the trash?”
The service is expanding to major cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago, and Walmart says it will be available to 30 million households by year-end.
Delivery employees are screened through background checks and average 6.5 years of experience at Walmart before getting the job, Pegden said. They wear uniforms, drive electric-powered branded vans, access homes through an entry key pad or a smart lock and have a body camera to record the drop-off. The same two or three delivery people typically visit a customers’ home.
Customers pay $19.95 per month or $148 per year for unlimited deliveries. It is separate from the company’s Walmart+ service.
For Walmart, it is a compelling example of how online orders can become a routine part of life, Ward said. Customers hand over the control, so the company can “keep them in stock so that the cereal is always there, the milk’s never out.”
– CNBC’s Katie Schoolov and Erin Black contributed to this report.

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Close to a third of consumers underestimate how much they spend on subscriptions by $100 to $199 each month, a new study shows.
Many people (42%) have forgotten that they’re still paying for a subscription they no longer use.
It’s worth looking into apps that help you keep track of those recurring charges.

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | DigitalVision | Getty Images

There’s a decent chance you don’t have a good handle on how much your subscriptions are really costing you.
Consumers’ offhand guess of how much they spend monthly on subscriptions averaged $86, according to a survey commissioned by market research firm C+R Research. Yet when asked about subscriptions in specific categories, the actual amount was $219 on average — $133 more than estimated.

“It’s a slippery slope with subscriptions because it just happens automatically and you’re not actively making that purchase every month,” said certified financial planner Douglas Boneparth, president of Bone Fide Wealth in New York.
With the explosion of subscription services over the last decade, keeping track of them all can be challenging. For just media and entertainment offerings, the average number of paid subscriptions per consumer was 12 in 2020, according to Statista. Millennials had the most: 17.
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Because subscriptions are often automatically charged on a debit or credit card, it’s easier for users not to notice the cost. Most people (86%) have at least some, if not all, of their subscriptions on autopay, the survey showed.
And 42% said they have forgotten they were still being charged for a subscription they no longer use.

“It’s the rare person who doesn’t have at least one sneaky charge they’ve forgotten about,” said Kathryn Hauer, a CFP with Wilson David Investment Advisors in Aiken, South Carolina.
Nearly a third (30%) of those surveyed for the C+R study underestimated their subscription costs by $100 to $199. Another 24% were off by $200 or more.
For anyone who wants to get a better grip on how much they are spending and on what, it’s worth considering an app such as Truebill or Mint that allows you track your subscriptions. Many banks or credit card companies also allow you to see your recurring charges all in one place through your account.

Keeping closer track of your subscriptions also can help you budget better so you’re not overspending.
“It really comes down to organization,” Boneparth said. “The more organized you are around cash flow, the more you can identify what you want or don’t want to spend your money on.”
The survey for the study was conducted in late April and early May among 1,000 consumers.

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