Shop with associates live & on walmart.com

It's been a while since I've updated the blog, but a lot has changed in a year! If you follow me on social, you'll know that after my mom passed, I took some time away from work to focus on my mental health. I then transitioned from my role as a Market Health & Wellness Director to being a part-time pharmacist with Walmart, and I started a new position as an Ambassador Program Manager with Brand Networks, the company that powers Walmart's Local Social and Spotlight programs. Some of my first blogs were all about being a Spotlight ambassador, and now I get to help grow this program for the entire company! 

So far, it's been incredibly exciting. There have been two projects I've worked on recently that I wanted to highlight here: Associate-Led Shoppable Livestreams and the first Associate-curated walmart.com pages!

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Live shopping has been around since the days of QVC and HSN. I remember my mom loved shopping this way, and would call in to place an order! But times have changed, and nowadays, thanks to apps like TalkShopLive, shopping via livestream is as simple as tuning into walmart.com/live and tapping the products to add them to your cart! 
When we were first approved about selecting an associate to host the first ever associate-led livestream, Ricky was an easy choice! I knew he was studying broadcast journalism while running an immaculate complex academy store in Houston, and he was a natural entertainer on camera! If you don't follow him, check him out on Tiktok (65K+)! He brought along his fellow store manager Oriana, who's just as talented, and they make the perfect pair to banter back and forth in these livestreams.

So far, we've held three livestreams: Gardening, Beauty, and Backyard Grilling. I got to attend the most recent one, and it was such a fun time! They even got their market team involved and grilled a whole feast of brisket, fajitas, burgers, pizza, and breakfast! Our last one in this Spring series will be April 26th all about Mother's Day Gifting. 

The next big project I've been working on are associate-curated pages on walmart.com! We all know that our associates truly have the insider knowledge about the best products at Walmart, and now, several of our "Walmart Famous" associates have their very own shops: https://bit.ly/SpotlightAssociateShop​

To actually see this page come to life has been such a cool experience. It took just under 90 days to go from idea to wireframe concept to final design to launch! We've great finds from got seasonal items, home goods, electronics, fashion, beauty and of course, wellness!

These are just the first two of many amazing things coming this year! If you are a salaried Walmart associate, I invite you to join by downloading the Spotlight app from the 5&Dime on any BYOD device! And don't worry, hourly access is coming later this year, so stay tuned!

What opportunities would you like to see next for the Spotlight program? Dream big; the sky is the limit!