Wal-Mart Drops ?Acx?

Apparently, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has decided to replace Acxiom Corp. of Little Rock with Experian Information Solutions Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill., to do the bulk of the Bentonville retailer’s marketing database work. Acxiom is still doing work for the world’s largest company.

But Experian apparently undercut Acxiom’s prices for some customer and information management solutions.

Acxiom operates three business segments: services, data and software products, and information technology management. Its services segment provides solutions that integrate and manage customer, consumer and business data using its information management skills and technology, as well as its InfoBase data products.

Acxiom as a rule doesn’t comment about client relationships. Wal-Mart, as a rule, doesn’t comment about much of anything. But we’re told by industry insiders that the volume of business for these high-touch services ebbs and flows frequently.