Dive Brief:

• Newly hired store workers who stock shelves or work as pickers for online orders at Walmart stores no longer receive higher starting pay, company spokesperson Anne Hatfield confirmed to Retail Dive Thursday. The policy change, which dates from July, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
• In January the retail giant raised its starting wage to between $14 and $19 per hour depending on the local market and store position, up from $12 to $18. The jobs affected by the change typically paid a dollar more per hour than whatever a store’s lowest starting wage is, Hatfield said by phone.
• Existing wages remain in place, so no store workers have taken pay cuts, Hatfield also said. 

Dive Insight:

Stores have emerged as key to Walmart’s online sales growth. The retailer’s e-commerce revenue soared 24% in its most recent quarter, and the company said that was “led by pickup and delivery” orders. Overall net sales in the period rose 5.4% year over year to $110.9 billion and operating income rose 6.7% to $7.3 billion.

Many customers have noted the prevalence of pickers — store employees who shop for orders that will be picked up or delivered to customers’ homes — as more chains fulfill online orders from local stores. At Walmart, the percentage of those working on e-commerce orders or stocking shelves varies by store, according to Hatfield.

The change was made to make starting wages at each store more uniform, though some roles that require certain skills still do enjoy higher starting amounts, she said. In an emailed statement, the company said, “Consistent starting pay results in consistent staffing and better customer service while also creating new opportunities for associates to gain new skills from experience across the store and lay the groundwork for their career regardless of where they start.”

Hatfield said she didn’t know why the company offered slightly higher starting pay for stockers and personal shoppers in the first place, or why pay was reduced for them, rather than raised for cashiers and other lower-paid jobs. 

A person looking to work at Walmart can now opt to apply as a cashier if they would rather do that than picking online orders or stocking shelves because the starting wage is the same, Hatfield said.

“As the business evolves, things change,” she said. “But what's happening now is we're just going to make sure it's consistent. It allows associates the chance to get experience in all these different places around the store and keep their same rate of pay.”