Wal-Mart investing heavily in e-commerce to close gap on Amazon

Wal-Mart Stores is attempting to tighten its grip on its position as the world's largest retailer by making a significant investment in its e-commerce operations.

In the last year, the US company has doubled its number of warehouses to 10 in an effort to compete with e-commerce leader Amazon.

It has also installed new technology such as automated product sorting and improved package tracking in order to become a powerhouse in the competitive online retail market.

"We have doubled our capacity in the last twelve months and that allows us to ship to a majority of the US population in one day," said Justin Traweek, vice-president of e-commerce supply chain and fulfillment.

Wal-Mart's investment in e-commerce has increased from $300m in 2013 to $1.1bn this year so far.

It has also made several acquisitions during the same time, including 15 e-commerce start-ups. Most recently, its purchase of Jet.com and appointment of its founder Marc Lore as head of e-commerce business within the company signalled its intent.