Walmart delivered another standout quarter as the promise of lower prices and speedy deliveries drew in a broader spectrum of Americans during the critical holiday shopping period, including wealthier households.

Google is expanding the shopping features in its AI chatbot by teaming up with Walmart, Shopify, Wayfair and other big retailers to turn the Gemini app into a virtual merchant as well as an assistant.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is planning to retire early next year and his successor has been named.

Walmart CEO John Furner announced Tuesday the corporation’s minimum wage for its U.S. workforce of nearly 1.7 million will increase this year.

Millions of kids logging onto virtual school this fall has parents scrambling to find furniture for them. But John Furner, who runs Walmart’s U.S. stores, acknowledged low stocks of kid’s desks and laptops in a ABC News interview on Sept. 11. “It’s not as cute or trendy as a bought desk and I wish it had drawers for storage,” said Fry. Will the homemade desk make it through the school year? “I could not believe in three weeks how much damage he’s done to this desk.”_____Follow Joseph Pisani on Twitter @ josephpisani

Walmart will close its stores on Thanksgiving Day this year to allow employees to spend times with their families, the company said in a corporate blog post Tuesday. Usually, Walmart stores across the country would be packed on Thanksgiving Day with shoppers trying to score discounted electronics and other deals. We hope they will enjoy a special Thanksgiving Day at home with their loved ones, said John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. We are certainly thankful to our people for all of their efforts.Hours for Black Friday have not yet been announced. Also on Tuesday, the company announced that workers at its Walmart stores, Sams Club locations, distribution centers and fulfillment centers will receive cash bonuses. To read the companys full blog post, click here.