Walmart is forming a partnership with OpenAI to let shoppers buy its products directly within ChatGPT, the artificial-intelligence chatbot. It is a signal by the biggest U.S. retailer that online shopping is going to become a different experience from the retail websites we are used to.

Walmart's results are often seen as a barometer for the broader U.S. retail sector, and the underwhelming performance adds to concerns about the strength of consumer spending.