Many companies and organizations are adapting the use of virtual technologies and artificial intelligence in their operations in the ever-growing digital world. These evolving advancements shape different aspects of both the employee and customer experience, and recently Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, has expanded their own.
Read on to learn more about how Walmart is expanding online healthcare benefits for its employees as well as utilizing AI and AR technologies to implement cosmetic try-on features for its customers.
Expansion of Virtual Care
In October, Walmart announced its plan to expand virtual primary healthcare benefits to employees nationwide, offering the services to its workers in 28 states in the U.S. The retailer’s goal is to enhance and broaden its current online care services, currently available in only 21 states. This expansion exists in collaboration with healthcare services company Included Health, whose CEO praised the boosted health outcomes of the program as well as its lower costs. During a pilot run in 2020, Walmart stated that it saw an 11% reduction in the total cost of care for employees, and patients with diabetes and hypertension who used the service saw average improvements to their conditions.
During and following the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine became widely available and increasingly popular amongst patients everywhere. Beginning early next year, Walmart employees will have access to virtual primary care physicians, as well as digestive health and physical therapy specialists. This provides patients with better accessibility options, especially for those who lack the time to make it to a physical doctor’s office.
As Walmart expands its healthcare services to enhance virtual care for its employees, it is likely that more organizations will follow in their footsteps. The positive results of this program have potential to set a leading example for the future of telehealth benefits for other employers.
Virtual Try-On Technology
Walmart’s recent work with virtual technologies is not limited to healthcare. Along with fashion technology company Perfect Corp, Walmart is introducing a new feature called Beauty Virtual Try-On that allows customers to experiment with various makeup shades, including blush, lip color, eye shadow, and bronzer as if they were actually wearing them. This is done through a hyper-realistic view created by AI and AR technologies.
This new feature is similar in its virtual try-on aspect to Zeekit, the virtual fitting room platform that Walmart acquired in early 2022. These attributes offer increased personalization in Walmart’s shopping experience, enhancing the process for its customers. Virtual reality is evolving into a widely used option for companies to use in upgrading customer experience with their brands.
Walmart’s newest developments in their employee healthcare benefits set a great example for the different options that businesses have regarding virtual healthcare and virtual technologies in general. Their makeup try-on feature shows a very useful way to use AI in marketing products to customers, making them more likely to buy items that they will not wish to return. Adapting to these newer technologies allow businesses to continue to grow in ways that keep up with the evolving modern world.
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