As stated in Wal-Mart's press release: 

"It is the No. 1 customer-requested feature," said Cathy Halligan, Chief Marketing Officer. She went on to say "We will use those customer reviews and ratings to be able to provide more direct information about how our customers feel and make decisions on a case-by-case basis."

To read the full article, click here – http://news.com.com/Walmart.com+to+let+customers+review+
merchandise/2100-1038_3-6197478.html?tag=nefd.top

The Bazaarvoice Team is extremely proud to have helped make this happen and to serve Wal-Mart as a client.

Here is some other coverage of the news on Blogs:

Andy Sernovitz remarked that the Wal-Mart launch “is going to fundamentally change the marketing environment. More important, it is going to give consumers extraordinary power to fight back against businesses that don't deliver on their promises.”

http://www.damniwish.com/2007/07/a-landmark-mome.html

The GrokDotCom described the launch “a giant leap for corporate transparency and the growing popularity of word-of-mouth marketing."

http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/07/19/say-what-you-will-about-
walmartcom-seriously/

Here is some of the press coverage of this launch: