Walmart Buys Cool NYC Shopping App, Still Isn't Cool Enough for NYC

Walmart Labs, the tech innovation hub owner by the giant retailer, has acquired Stylr, a location based mobile app that allows its users to find clothes at the stores they are closest to.

Walmart Labs, the tech innovation hub owner by the giant retailer, has acquired Stylr, a location based mobile app that allows users to find clothes at the stores they are closest to. It was started by two Stanford alumni in New York (Silicon Alley, anyone?) and funded by NYC incubator DreamitVentures.

This is Walmart Labs thirteenth acquisition in the last three years. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the motive was likely to expand Walmart's mobile app presence.

Gibu Thomas,  SVP of mobile and digital at Walmart, wrote a blog post on the acquisition:

We are excited about the opportunity to serve these customers with indispensable digital tools that bring the convenience of online shopping into our physical stores and integrate our online and offline experiences to enable our customers to shop anytime, anywhere.

As for the future of Stylr, it seems it will be fully absorbed as a Walmart entity. What used to be Stylr's home page, stylrapp.com/demo now redirects to The @WalmartLabs Blog. Both owners will join Walmart Labs at their offices in California.

Even with the acquisition of a NYC based app, Walmart should know that fashionable New Yorkers still shudder at the thought of shopping in a Walmart.