Wal-Mart pushing hard to catch Amazon in e-commerce

Wal-Mart Stores, the 800-pound gorilla of retail, is running hard to catch up in an increasingly crucial segment where it is neither the biggest nor the best: e-commerce.The company, founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, has been gobbling up smaller and niche players in e-commerce in an effort to reach online shopping market leader Amazon.Whether those efforts are paying off will be a focal point when Wal-Mart Stores reports quarterly earnings on Thursday.