Walmart takes on Amazon Prime with new subscription service

By Paul Squire September 1, 2020

Walmart is launching an online membership service featuring free shipping from stores, a direct shot at Amazon’s lucrative Prime service.

Walmart’s new service, called Walmart+, will cost $98 per year or $13 per month, the company announced on Tuesday.

The plan includes free shipping and same-day delivery for groceries and certain items from stories. Other perks include discounts on gas at Walmart gas stations and skip the checkout line by paying using the mobile app.

The new membership service is cheaper than Amazon Prime, which clocks in at $119 per year, though Amazon’s plan offers more perks at the moment.

“Customers know they can trust us and depend on us, and we’ve designed this program as the ultimate life hack for them,” Walmart Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside said in a statement. “Life feels more complicated than ever. Walmart+ is designed to make it easier — giving customers an option to not have to sacrifice on cost or convenience. We know shopping should fit customers’ needs, not the other way around.”

Walmart+ will replace Delivery Unlimited, the company’s previous attempt at a free shipping membership plan. Current Delivery Unlimited subscribers will automatically be switched over to become Walmart+ members.

The company said it plans to add more features to the new membership plan over time.

While Walmart+ lacks some of the amenities of Amazon Prime — such as access to a comprehensive video and music streaming library — Walmart said same-day delivery will be available for many items from its thousands of stores, beating Amazon’s shipping speeds in some cases.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Paul is the News Editor at Digital Trends. Before joining DT, Paul spent 3 years as an editor on the New York Post's digital…

Entertainment

Amazon’s Fallout series adds Walton Goggins to its cast

Walton Goggins in Justified.

There's a very familiar face coming to Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of the video game series Fallout. But if the rumor is true, we'll have trouble recognizing Walter Goggins under heavy makeup. Deadline is reporting that Goggins has been cast in the live-action Fallout series, and "he is believed to be playing Ghoul."

The Fallout video games are a hit franchise that was created by Bethesda Softworks in 1997. The games take place in a uniquely envisioned postapocalypse that mixes a 1940s vision of the future with a grim wasteland created by a nuclear war in the year 2077. In the games, ghouls are people who have been horribly mutated due to overexposure to radiation. They could pass for zombies, but they aren't actually members of the undead. It's unclear if Goggins' character will have a proper name.

Entertainment

Amazon is developing a Blade Runner 2099 series

A scene from Blade Runner.

Forty years ago, director Ridley Scott's Blade Runner movie redefined sci-fi with its vision of the future. Now, Scott is moving the franchise even further down the timeline. Deadline is reporting that a Blade Runner 2099 series is in development at Amazon Prime Video. Scott had previously said that a pilot script had already been written, and he remains attached as an executive producer. Additionally, there is a possibility that Scott may direct the show if it gets picked up.

According to Deadline, Prime Video is fast-tracking the potential series, which already has Silka Luisa (AppleTV+'s Shining Girls) as the showrunner, writer, and executive producer. Blade Runner 2099 is being produced by Amazon Studios, Scott Free Productions, and Alcon Entertainment, the production company behind Prime Video's The Expanse. Prime Video is reportedly already looking at production start dates and scripts.

Entertainment

Amazon reveals the main characters of The Rings of Power

An Early Glimpse of the Lord of the Rings TV series.

Two decades ago, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy brought J.R.R. Tolkien's tales to the big screen. This fall, Amazon Prime Video is carving out its place in Tolkien's lore with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. And while the first trailer won't debut until Sunday, Vanity Fair has shared the first details about the main characters who will headline The Rings of Power.

Since this series takes place during the Second Age of Middle-earth, the events of the core LOTR trilogy won't happen until thousands of years later. That doesn't leave many options for characters who can appear in both, except for the nearly immortal elves. That's why Morfydd Clark is headlining the series as Galadriel, a younger version of the character portrayed by Cate Blanchett in the movies. At this time in her life, Galadriel is a warrior and the leader of the Northern armies. She also senses the coming darkness and vows to fight it.