By Colin Kellaher

Walmart Inc. on Tuesday said it will discontinue Jet.com, the e-commerce startup it bought in a $3.3 billion deal in 2016 to help jump-start growth at the retail giant's online operations.

The Bentonville, Ark., company attributed the move to the continued strength of its Walmart.com brand.

In its fiscal first-quarter earnings report Tuesday, Walmart said its Walmart U.S. e-commerce sales surged 74%, boosted by a surge in online shopping sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Walmart said the acquisition of Jet.com, which at the time marked the largest ever purchase of a U.S. e-commerce startup, was critical to accelerating its omni retail strategy.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2020 07:39 ET (11:39 GMT)

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