Walmart will offer free one-day delivery of up to 220,000 items in its online store with orders over $ 35. Walmart is currently offering the new service in Phoenix and Las Vegas, and will arrive in Southern California in the coming days. The retailer expects the service to be available to 75 percent of the US by the end of 2019, including 40 of the 50 largest metropolitan areas.
The retailer’s announcement comes shortly after Amazon’s decision to accelerate its free delivery option for Prime members from a two-day to one-day delivery. As of last week, the new Amazon service is now available for select Prime items. While Walmart requires you to spend a minimum of $ 35 to get quality free delivery, Amazon has no minimum spend. Instead, Amazon requires you to pay an annual fee of $ 119 for Prime.
Walmart is estimated to be investing $ 215 million to make it possible
In addition to its overnight delivery plans, Walmart is also expanding its grocery shopping service to 3,100 of its 4,700 stores by the end of the year. It also plans to offer same-day click-and-collect at 1,600 stores. The retailer’s free two-day delivery service, which was first introduced in 2017, will continue to be available on “millions” of items, up from 220,000 covered by the new one-day service.
While Walmart now offers one-day delivery, Amazon already offers free same-day delivery on many of its items, albeit with a $ 35 minimum spend and a required Prime membership. Without a Prime membership, Amazon charges $ 9.98 per item for same-day delivery.
These faster delivery options aren’t cheap for Amazon and Walmart to implement. Amazon is spending $ 800 million to make its delivery plans possible in one day, while CNBC reports that Walmart is estimated to be spending up to $ 215 million in an attempt to catch up. Walmart says it will keep costs low by sourcing items from a single, close-to-customer fulfillment center.
