Where Will Walmart Be in 5 Years?

If you give Walmart (NYSE: WMT) even a passing glance, the company of today looks more or less like the Walmart of yesteryear. The stores are still enormous warehouses offering about everything you might need at any given time, and its prices typically beat what the competition can offer. It's a formula that has made the brick-and-mortar retailer the behemoth it is.

If you take a closer, more philosophical look at the company, however, you'll also see Walmart is evolving beyond just being a low-cost seller of a lot of stuff. The company's more recent initiatives are appeals to how people think, shop, and live, with the ultimate intent to develop a deeper relationship with consumers. Five years from now Walmart will have completed its quest to become a "lifestyle brand."

With the next five years in mind, is now the time to buy Walmart stock?

Source Fool.com