Walmart launches next-day shipping in select US cities

Dean Blake

16th May 2019

Less than a month after Amazon announced it would start trying to reduce the delivery time for Prime members from two days to one, Walmart has launched a next-day delivery service for customers in Phoenix and Las Vegas.

The offer will be active across as many as 220,000 items, and is expected to expand across Southern California in the coming days. It is expected to reach three quarters of the US by the end of 2019.

The retailer noted that, unlike its competitor, it would not be spending any extra money to facilitate this change. Amazon said it would spend US$800 million this quarter in order to speed up delivery times, while Walmart expects this change will save it money.

“Anytime someone shops next day, it is guaranteed to cost us a lot less to ship,” Walmart’s US e-commerce chief Marc Lore said in an interview, according to Bloomberg.

“We are not paying the carriers any more. That’s in contrast to online orders that come in multiple boxes from multiple locations, which can be quite costly.”

Lore estimated that about half of online orders would be eligible for next-day delivery automatically, based on the items that are most commonly purchased through Walmart’s online store.

Amazon responded to the news on Twitter, stating that customers are smart and know the difference between them and their rivals.

Others are trying to up their fast shipping game. Fact is, Amazon customers in thousands of cities across 44 major metropolitan areas already have access to millions of items with free SAME DAY delivery. Customers are smart – they know the difference. pic.twitter.com/K89kUJ8Xnn

— Amazon News (@amazonnews) May 14, 2019

“Others are trying to up their fast shipping game,” the company tweeted.

“Fact is, Amazon customers in the thousands of cities across 44 major metropolitan areas already have access to millions of items with free SAME DAY delivery. Customers are smart – they know the difference.”

According to Bloomberg, Walmart’s website will be upgraded with a button that will display all items available for next-day delivery.