With a steadily growing proliferation of affordable tablet devices, Walmart knew that it was only a matter of time before its customer base began looking to tablet apps to fulfil routine shopping needs. In fact, several segments of the retailer’s massive constituency had already been clamouring for an intuitive alternative to walmart.com. We were tasked to design its first iPad app, an important extension of the company’s digital shopping ecosystem.Our goals were to facilitate the customer shopping and purchase process on the iPad, bring Walmart to a point of competitive parity, and give life to the brand promise (“Save money. Live better”), and all the while providing a seamless, competitive and multi-channel experience.To achieve this, we designed an experience that was elastic enough to extend across hundreds of Walmart product categories. Walmart has an extensive inventory and being able to easily navigate this volume while shopping online or preparing for the next shopping trip was essential. Gesture-based navigation provides a clean and intuitive way to progressively filter online and local inventory results, whether searching or browsing. It also supported cross-shopping behaviours, allowing users to intuitively browse and research, store their ‘finds’, and port them to a shopping cart either at walmart.com, or in brick and mortar stores.The home page provides a simple, straightforward "discovery" alternative to specific search or category navigation. The app features a magazine-like curated experience and provides a dedicated space for seasonal and "rollback" promotions. Localized store content adds an element of personalisation and community.With Walmart's brand attributes in mind, we created a distinctly Walmart experience for shoppers on the iPad. One that is innovative and useful, providing simple, straightforward navigation through a wide range of merchandise, as well as feeling fun and natural to interact with.Working together with the Walmart User Experience team helped ensure that we captured the learnings gleaned from existing e-commerce and mobile platforms. A close integration with Walmart’s internal brand group also kept us aligned with the core brand look and feel. And an adherence to Apple’s human interface guidelines (HIG) ensured that the end solution met best-in-class standards.While it is too soon after launch to measure performance, the Walmart iPad app has been hailed by press and category influencers as one of the most accomplished and promising new iPad apps to launch this year.