The American Spectator

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Special Report

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"Wal-Mart is an incredibly technology savvy company," says Phil Harvey, editor-in-chief at Telecom Website Light Reading. "They are going to figure stuff out faster than other big companies. Even if they fail, they'll be better next time."

Wal-Mart has always been an innovator. In 2004, it became the first retailer to require suppliers to use RFID tags to track merchandise. Wal-Mart's dedication to the mostly untested process caused many of its suppliers to balk at the additional cost they would incur, but the tags have saved Wal-Mart millions in restocking fees, enabled the company to track products more easily, and streamlined the purchasing process.

Though the size of large brick-and-mortar companies often hinders their mobility in online ventures, Wal-Mart has the benefit of its massive bottom line to fund its experiments on the Internet. With niche sites like Mediabistro, JournalismJobs, and Cars.com flourishing, it is evident that there's more room in the realm of classifieds than newspaper ad salesmen realized 30 years ago.

Wal-Mart has yet to prove its mettle in the online atmosphere, and its focus on sales is in stark contrast to Craigslist's focus on user experience. But the free access of buyers and sellers at Oodle may signal that Wal-Mart is starting to comprehend this new marketplace. If that's the case, then the last generation of nimble innovators had better stay on their toes.

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