Walmart to offer eyewear 'try-on'
Walmart Inc. will debut a new feature next month that will let customers "try on" a selection of eyeglass frames and buy prescription eyewear through Walmart.com or the retailer's app.
Virtual try-on of frames and ordering of eyeglasses isn't new, with companies such as Warby Parker and EyeBuyDirect having offered these services for years. But Walmart said on Friday that unlike those companies, it's using 3D data and advanced algorithms to create a "digital twin" of the frames for a more realistic try-on experience.
The Bentonville-based retailer will make more than 750 frames available for virtual try-on. These will be noted with a "Try them on" flag on the main product page. When customers click on the flag and allow a facial scan, they can see the frames on themselves as if looking in a mirror.
Walmart said customers can also upload their valid lens prescription and then add the glasses to their online shopping cart.
Opticians in Walmart's Vision Centers will be available to answer customers' questions throughout the ordering process. Once the glasses arrive, customers can take them to their local Walmart Vision Center for help with any needed "finishing touches," the company said.
Over the past year, Walmart said, it has been expanding its assortment of frames, and now offers more than 1,000 at less than $150. And by the end of this year, Walmart plans to have more than 3,000 vision centers nationwide.
The company started offering new certification and licensure programs for its opticians last year, and raised pay for more than 4,000.
-- Serenah McKay
Tyson set to report 1st-quarter earnings
Analysts are predicting a decline when it comes to Tyson Foods Inc. first-quarter earnings report for 2024, expected on Monday.
According to Zacks Equity Research, the consensus mark for quarterly earnings has increased 10.5% in the past seven days to 42 cents per share, which is a decline of 50.6% from the previous year. Tyson's estimated revenue is predicted to be $13.5 billion, which is a 1.5% increase from the same time period the prior year.
Tyson management will host a first-quarter earnings call with its investors at 8 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5.
The conference call will be webcast live and can be accessed by visiting http://ir.tyson.com. A replay of the event will also be available at the same web address.
Tyson shares closed at $56.36, down 27 cents, or less than 1%, in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares have traded as low as $44.94 and as high as $65.31 over the past year.
-- Dylan Sherman
State index finishes day up 8.77 points
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 922.63, up 8.77 points.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.