Walmart is launching a new subscription service that combines many of its in-store and online services. At $98 per year, Walmart+ will compete with Amazon Prime.
The membership program includes free shipping on orders of $35 or more and a 5-cent-a-gallon discount at affiliated gas stations. There’s also an app that members can use to scan their in-store purchases as they shop and pay online without having to wait in line.
Walmart’s Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside calls the new Walmart+ service the “ultimate life hack.” It will replace Delivery Unlimited, which costs the same amount but was limited to about a quarter of the 4,700 stores that will ship items to Walmart+ customers; 2,700 of those stores will offer same-day delivery.
Membership will be available to all customers on September 15. Walmart+ will offer an option to pay $12.95 per month instead of the annual fee and the membership includes a 15-day free trial period.
“We saw that customers’ needs and wants were rapidly changing almost on a daily basis,” Whiteside told reporters Tuesday. Like many retailers, Walmart’s online sales during the pandemic have soared. The company said its online sales grew 97 percent in the second quarter, more than double its average rate of growth.
Although Walmart+ undercuts Amazon Prime by $21 a year, it lacks some of its rival’s benefits, including free shipping with no minimum purchase and free streaming entertainment. But Walmart could make up for that with its biggest advantage – proximity. 90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a Walmart, according to the company. Walmart says it will add more features to its new membership plan over time.
