Walmart has Amazon firmly in its sights as it sets about expanding its Delivery Unlimited service to more locations across the country.
Delivery Unlimited launched as a pilot in four cities in June 2019 and lets Walmart Grocery shoppers pay $98 a year, or $13 a month, to waive additional delivery fees for online orders. But customers have to spend $30 a time to skip those fees.
That beats Amazon Fresh, for which shoppers pay $15 a month, plus the $119 annual fee for Amazon Prime membership. Of course, it’s important to note that for Amazon’s higher fee, customers also get access to online movies, TV shows, music, and e-books — something that Walmart doesn’t offer.
Walmart launched Delivery Unlimited three months ago in four markets — Houston, Miami, Salt Lake City, and Tampa — and said this week that following a positive response from customers, it’s decided to immediately expand the program to all 200 metro areas where Grocery Delivery is available. Check Walmart’s app (iOS, Android) to see if it’s in your area.
The retailer said that as Grocery Delivery continues to expand, Delivery Unlimited will grow along with it, arriving at more than 1,600 stores across more than half of the country by the end of 2019.
Walmart is offering a 15-day free trial of its subscription-based grocery delivery service in an effort to attract more customers.
Before Walmart set up Delivery Unlimited, its online shoppers could only receive an order by paying a delivery fee of up to $10 or by collecting it from the local store for free.
Both of these options are still offered, though time-pressed Walmart customers who shop regularly at its online store will likely be taking a close look at the newer Delivery Unlimited service.
Besides Walmart and Amazon, other online outfits battling for customers in the grocery delivery space include Shipt, which was acquired by Target in 2017. Shipt charges $99 a year for free grocery delivery on orders over $35, or $10 per same-day delivery.
Instacart, another player in the space, also charges a $99 annual fee, which gets you free delivery on orders over $35, or $4 per same-day delivery on orders over $35 — except in New York City, where it costs $6 per delivery.
Digital Trends has knocked together a handy guide featuring some of the best apps for grocery shopping and delivery.
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