Walmart to offer home grocery delivery to 100 US cities
Walmart has revealed that it intends to expand its online grocery delivery service to more than 40% of US households by the end of the year, in a bid to compete with rival retailers such as Amazon.
Supported by a number of partners such as Uber, the grocery delivery expansion will allow the retailer to target 100 metropolitan areas as it expands delivery to about 800 stores by the end of 2018.
The plan also involves used Jet, the online retailer purchased by Walmart, to offer same-day delivery service in New York City to compete with Amazon’s one- and two- hour delivery service Prime Now.
SEE ALSO:
- Target to invest more to grow footprint, raise salaries, and expand Drive Up delivery service
- Tesco completes Booker takeover in £4bn deal
- Aldi to pilot outposts in Kohl’s stores
The expanded delivery service will cost $9.95 and will require a minimum order spend of $30.
Walmart has increasingly invested in its online offerings to keep up with changing consumer habits however the retailer stumbled in its last quarter, experiencing a 23% slowdown in its online sales growth.
Competition in the $800bn US grocery market has intensified in recent years, following Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods last year.
As such, several retailers have begun pushing delivery services more aggressively.
Costco Wholesale and Kroger have used delivery startup Instacart to offer more cities and products that shoppers can order and meanwhile, Target acquired Instacart rival SHipt in December to tap into growing delivery demand.
In recent years, Walmart has expanded its curbside grocery pickup service whereby shoppers can order online and pick up their items from their car in the store’s parking lot.
