Wal-Mart is investing resources into trying be more competitive online, where the retail giant has struggled to be relevant against Web-focused Amazon and EBay.  Businessweek's Matthew Boyle and Douglas MacMillan report that while Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke is making a big push with @WalMartLabs, the company may be too far behind its competitors to become more relevant in the online shopping business. 

Wal-Mart’s lackluster online history has deep cultural roots. The organization has long been dominated by store managers who feared e-commerce could cannibalize in-store sales, and thus their bonuses, according to a former Walmart.com senior executive. In Walmart.com’s first few years, store managers fought against putting the site’s Web address on shopping bags.

Among physical retail outlets, Wal-Mart generally has the lowest prices on the broadest assortment of goods. The company has struggled to replicate that advantage online. A March report from William Blair found that Amazon was the “clear leader” in online pricing. Amazon also has 14 times as many products. In digital camcorders, for instance, Amazon offers 2,016 varieties, vs. Walmart.com’s 96, according to a February report from Wells Fargo Securities (WFC). Shoppers have noticed. Internet traffic researcher comScore reports that Walmart.com saw 35.8 million visitors in June, a little more than a third of Amazon.com’s traffic and half of EBay’s.

It seems as though this next year will be a big test for Wal-Mart's online ambitions.  Whether the company is successful or not, its approach will make for one interesting case study in Twenty-First Century global business strategies.  Read Wal-Mart’s Rocky Path from Bricks to Clicks here.