Walmart is rolling out a membership program called Walmart+ that includes unlimited free delivery with no minimum order size. The cost is $98 a year or $12.95 a month, with a 15-day free trial period. Sign-ups start September 15, 2020. Here are the primary features at launch:
- Free delivery, unlimited with $35 minimum. In-store prices as fast as same-day on more than 160,000 items from electronics to groceries.
- Scan & Go in-store. Use the Walmart app to scan barcodes as you shop in-store and skip the cashier line.
- Fuel discount. Save up to 5 cents a gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club fuel stations will eventually be added as well.
This should be interesting, as it includes “cold” grocery items. I’m just not sure how the economics of this would work while paying a fair wage to the delivery workers. I feel that Instacart relies on customer tips to bridge this gap. Instead, I wish that Walmart would create a speedy “drive thru pickup” service that leverages their big box store footprint. If they offered the same in-store prices with free drive-thru pickup (perhaps within an hour after being ordered via app), they would save the delivery costs and customers wouldn’t have to pay extra for membership fees or gratuities.
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I thought it will be a $35 minimum for groceries.
And free delivery without a minimum for other online purchases like Amazon.
The grocery thing may make this profitable, otherwise they can’t compete
with the Prime video content
Either way, Walmart can shove it.
Thanks, I didn’t see a minimum in their press release but other sources state a $35 minimum, I believe based on their existing Delivery Unlimited service.
I don’t shop at Walmart very often but these days, is Walmart really worse than Amazon? It seems Amazon needs some competition, otherwise they will have complete control of all retail.
Yeah, you’re right. Competition is good.
I can’t imagine Walmart is going to send drivers to deliver a loaf bread and gallon of milk.
I find even unlimited $35 minimums on the generous side.
New Orleans Metro has a Wal-Mart Pick Up location for groceries, including frozen. I use it about every other week through either the website or the app. It has a $35 minimum, no-fee, prices closer to shelf price than Insta, choice of your 1-hr window and about 10 bays, half of them covered. I’ve seen the cars lined up to the road only a couple of times. It’s pretty efficient. Not sure which big store it pulls from (trucks deliver orders for the window schedule) but there wasn’t a store in this part of town and Pick-Up is closer than the store I shopped pre-pandemic.
Hope the new program doesn’t mess this up.
That sounds pretty nice, I wish I had that as an option.
Yep, our Walmart in NWPA has done that for months. I used
it twice because they offered $10 off on a $50 order. Got one for
me and another for the husband.
Beginning 9/21 I will be using it all the time for most of my grocery list.
That’s because I got 5% off the first year with Walmart Pay. When it ends in a few
weeks I can still get the 5% off, but only at the pickup service. This is from a Capital One
card affiliated with Walmart.
Other than the added gas benefit, isn’t this pretty much the same $99/yr plan they always offered?
Not to my knowledge. Never knew of Walmart to offer a subscription service, maybe it’s
regional? It’s always been free delivery for online orders over $35, no groceries.
This “free” grocery delivery service is the only way they can compete with Amazon Prime IMO.
The Prime video content is terrific..
For at least 2020, anytime I placed a grocery delivery there you could either pay a one time fee, or signup for a year for $99. Pretty sure they offered in 2019 also. That’s why I am not sure why Walmart is hyping this as new. I guess maybe they added some value, with the gas benefits, etc.. Or maybe I am just missing something.
I don’t get it either.
Googled and saw they were indeed offering the same, or a very similar, service in 2019.
Maybe they tweaked it and did massive press releases. It was on the national news.
The online ordering has been around for a while.
You select a 2 hour time frame for pickup and drive to the rear.
The guys load the stuff into your vehicle. The 2 times I made my “first” pickup, they
gave me a nice gift bag.
My friend in NY did say she had to wait days for a time slot,
Mine were preCovid and quick.
I believe that their Delivery Unlimited service was only available in limited areas (it wasn’t available in mine), so this signifies a nationwide rollout along with the ongoing bundling of a few additional services like the Scan & Go option and fuel discounts.
Ah, okay. I almost signed up for a year a few weeks back, but then realized Amazon Fresh is very similar, and already included in my Amazon Prime membership. In addition, since I have the Prime credit card, I get 5% of my Fresh grocery purchases.
I like shopping in Walmart. My big weekly trip. I can easily pick up 6000 steps on my Fitbit