Wal-Mart Competes With Amazon, Goes Free Trial Next-Day Delivery

Amazon may be pursuing to dominate online, yet, the largest retailer in the world has decided to flex its muscles and so the battle begins.

Wal-Mart recently launched testing of Same-Day Delivery of groceries to compete with Amazon. Now, it has made another strategic move with offering a next-day delivery shipping option of its own. Internet Retailer recently reported how Wal-Mart is aggressively going after Amazon with it new pilot program ShippingPass. It is an annual membership program that shoppers can join for only $49 compared to Amazon's $99 Prime membership fee.

With ShippingPass, members will get free next-day delivery, as well as those that have already paid their fee will receive a free additional month. Wal-Mart will also offer 30-day trial memberships to pilot program, which launched last year. On WalMart.com, A logo will be next to the product, showing shoppers the products eligible for ShippingPass.

Fernando Madeira, president and CEO of Walmart.com, commented on the service and customers' positive responses to it. “ShippingPass is about half the price of similar programs out there at just $49 a year, and customers who are using it, love it,” Madeira said. In contrast, Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at consulting and research firm RSR Research LLC, mentioned how Wal-Mart may have an issue with it. She stated, “Wal-Mart has a problem. Its sales are basically flat. It is trying all different kinds of initiatives to drive customers to its site, and get them to buy repeatedly. One of the things it’s trying is basically Prime at half the price. This sounds good on paper, but does miss out on some of the other benefits Prime members get, including content, e-books, and where available, free two-hour delivery.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is hoping the new free shipping with two-day delivery will turn more shoppers to WalMart.com. This translates into Wal-Mart being aggressive in regards to a big push against Amazon's growth momentum online. Amazon has not only utilized its' Prime membership plan to gain customers, but also to keep them. In Addition, the e-retailer has steadily expanded its free same-day delivery program throughout 27 major US cities, including San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Washington DC, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Richmond, and more. At its' pace, Amazon will soon offer the service nationwide.

If not now, when would Wal-Mart join in, considering how delivery options are revolutionizing the impact of e-commerce. Amazon, Google, Macy's, and more are all showing that online business is the new store that any retailer cannot survive without. Many retailers are partnering with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to develop sound same-day delivery solutions for online order fulfillment. The New York Courier has the expertise to help any retailer or online business' delivery system thrive.

Reference: 6.29.16, www.internetretailer.com, Matt Lindner, Wal-Mart offers a free trial of its Amazon Prime-like free shipping program