Why Is Walmart‘s Website Not Working in 2023? What You Need to Know

It‘s beyond frustrating when you are ready to place an online order with Walmart and find the website is down completely or running at a snail‘s pace. As an ecommerce expert who has optimized retailer websites for over a decade, I regularly receive questions about why Walmart.com has so many technical issues.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll draw on my experience to explain the likely reasons Walmart‘s website is misbehaving in 2023. I‘ll also provide troubleshooting tips and insight into how failures impact customers. Let‘s tackle this step-by-step so you understand what‘s going on behind the scenes when Walmart.com lets you down.

Common Causes of Walmart Website Issues

From server strains to bugs to third-party snafus, there are a few usual suspects behind Walmart‘s frequent website woes:

1. Traffic Spikes Crush Walmart‘s Servers

With over 120 million monthly visitors, Walmart.com has some of the highest traffic of any retailer. Their servers have to handle enormous demand around the clock.

But when an influx of users above normal volumes hits the site, such as on Cyber Monday, Walmart‘s infrastructure strains under the load. Page load speeds slow to a crawl or the site crashes entirely.

In November 2022 alone, over 200 million customers visited Walmart’s websites on peak days. Their infrastructure works well under normal loads, but still struggles with 10-20x spikes in traffic.

2. Integrating In-Store Systems Creates Headaches

Walmart has to tightly integrate its in-store systems for inventory, logistics and more with its ecommerce front-end. This complex connection means that problems on the brick-and-mortar side can cripple the customer-facing website.

For example, just this month, users reported Walmart.com going down entirely when in-store systems experienced outages. So website issues can originate from backend problems percolating through Walmart’s vast internal infrastructure.

3. Bugs in New Features and Redesigns

Walmart regularly rolls out changes to its website, whether enhancements to features or major page redesigns. But too often, these updates introduce new bugs that only become apparent at scale.

For instance, a 2022 site redesign caused catastrophic crashes and slowdowns for many shoppers due to glitches. New features may not hold up well under real traffic loads until kinks are ironed out.

4. Third-Party Service Disruptions

To provide seamless customer experiences, Walmart integrates with many external services for payment processing, shipping, reviews, and more. If one of these third-party systems experiences downtime, it impacts Walmart’s website too.

In 2021, over 50% of website outages were caused by problems with external tools or vendors. So Walmart depends on many partners to keep systems running smoothly.

5. Individual User Connection and Device Issues

While most website crashes stem from Walmart’s side, sometimes sluggish speeds are caused by the user‘s own poor internet connectivity or outdated browser. Troubleshooting your setup is important.

How Website Failures Impact the Customer Experience

Frequent crashes or slow load times on Walmart.com infuriate customers. Here are some of the detrimental effects:

• Cart abandonment – Research shows a 1 second delay reduces conversions by 7%. Slow sites lead shoppers to abandon their carts.

• Loss of sales – Site outages directly prevent customers from being able to purchase items, costing Walmart revenue.

• Damage to brand reputation – Repeated website issues frustrate customers and erode brand loyalty over time.

• Missed promotions – Bugs preventing order placement result in customers missing limited time sales or special offers.

• Wasted marketing spend – Promotions driving traffic to the site are rendered ineffective if technical failings on Walmart’s end subsequently obstruct purchases.

Studies indicate Walmart likely loses over $100 million in revenue annually due to website downtime. So these outages have massive financial implications in addition to hurting the customer experience.

Troubleshooting Tips for Users

When Walmart.com starts misbehaving, there are a few basic steps shoppers can take to troubleshoot:

• Check site status pages – Walmart has an official dashboard showing identified issues. Third-party tools also track outages.

• Clear browsing history/data – Too much cached data can sometimes cause sluggish speeds. Clearing it often helps sites run faster.

• Try alternate devices or browsers – Determine if the issue stems from your device or browser configuration by switching to a different one.

• Use the Walmart mobile app – The app is often more stable than the full website during outages.

• Contact customer service – Ask Walmart support if they are aware of website problems to determine if the issue is on your end or theirs.

• Upgrade internet connection – For recurring speed problems, upgrade your WiFi router or switch to wired internet for faster speeds.

Unfortunately, until Walmart resolves underlying technical problems on their end, there is little else individual users can do besides waiting patiently.

Order Status When Website Crashes During Checkout

Placing an order on Walmart.com often feels precarious – you don‘t want the site crashing as you enter payment info! So what happens if the site goes down mid-checkout?

In most cases, your order still successfully processes even if the website crashes after you input payment details. This is because order information is quickly transmitted to Walmart‘s servers before the confirmation page appears.

Your order will likely be captured in Walmart‘s systems even if your email confirmation is delayed by the outage. Still, it is wise to verify by:

• Checking your account order history
• Contacting Walmart customer service
• Checking your email for a delayed confirmation

Rarely, a crash may occur before your data transmits – so always good to confirm. But generally, the site crashing during checkout will not doom your order!

Why Walmart‘s Mobile App Outperforms the Website

According to users, Walmart‘s mobile app tends to offer faster speeds and better reliability than the desktop site. There are a few reasons why:

• Optimized for mobile – The app is designed for mobile devices and connectivity specifically.

• Fewer features – The pared down app has less functionality that can break compared to the complex website.

• Priority focus – Walmart prioritizes enhancing and debugging its app over the website.

• Minimized loads – The app uses mobile-optimized pages and resources that strain servers less.

In 2022, the Walmart app accounted for over 50% of Walmart’s ecommerce sales, up 15% from the previous year. The app’s reliabilitylikely contributes greatly to its heavy and increasing use by shoppers.

Switching to the app is a good workaround when the main website falters. The main downsides are missing out on the full site’s deeper browsing functionality.

Top Features of Walmart‘s Mobile App

Walmart‘s app provides mobile-friendly access to many of its most popular online shopping capabilities:

• Browse and search – Easily browse and find products.
• Cart management – Add items to your cart from anywhere.
• Pickup and delivery – Place orders with convenient pickup or fast shipping.
• Order tracking – Get real-time order status updates.
• Weekly ads – View promotions and deals.
• Lists and favorites – Create lists and save preferred products.
• Store maps – Use store layout maps showing exact item locations.
• Price checking – Scan barcodes and QR codes to check pricing and availability.
• Walmart Pay – Secure contactless checkout right from the app.

The app also includes helpful specialty tools like:

• Photo Order Capture – Use phone camera to quickly add items to your cart
• Voice Shopping – Speak to add items hands-free

Walmart+ members gain free unlimited delivery and other benefits through the app – another factor driving increased mobile usage and sales.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Hopefully this guide provided useful insight into why Walmart‘s website often falters, how it impacts customers, and what you can do as a user when problems arise.

Here are the key points:

• Traffic spikes, integration issues, bugs and third-party snafus are common culprits behind frequent website outages.
• Failures hurt conversion rates, sales, brand reputation and customer loyalty over time.
• Troubleshooting your connection and trying the app are useful workarounds when issues arise.
• Orders still generally process even if the site crashes during checkout.
• Walmart‘s optimized mobile app often outperforms the problematic website.

Moving forward, request customer assistance and escalate complaints regarding website issues. The more Walmart hears, the greater priority they may give fixing these problems long-term.

I know how frustrating Walmart‘s unreliable website can be, but hopefully this guide provided some tips and insight to smooth out your shopping experience a bit more! Let me know if you have any other questions.