As the US grocer takes over an online competitor Alibaba looks to stunt its growth.
In July Wal-Mart acquired the remaining 49% of shares in Yihaodian, China's number one online grocery store, to give it 100% control of the company. Although Yihaodian enjoys a mere one percent share of the total e-commerce market, its reputation for delivering quality goods quickly gives it a strong position in the market.
Alibaba launched a failed bid to block the 49% sale and buy the shares back from Yihaodian's co-founders and Ping An, an insurance group. Alibaba couldn't acquire the minority stake and so instead is pledging large discounts and same day delivery on Tmall Supermarkets, its own fresh produce and FMCG offering.
Jack Ma, the Group's charismatic founder, has already unveiled ambitions to be bigger than the US corporate giant and eventually expects sales across its platforms to reach $1 trillion by the end of the decade.
The Chinese internet giant is even eyeing up Wal-Mart's home market and plans to launch a service that would connect any buyer with any seller and guarantee delivery times of no more than 72 hours.
In another bid to expand its domestic reach, Alibaba recently acquired a 20% stake in Suning Commerce Group, China's top electronic retail chain, which operates more than 1,600 electronic stores across the country.