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Transportation United States

Walmart Announces Next-Day Delivery, Firing Back At Amazon (cnbc.com) 52

Walmart will now offer shoppers the option to have their online orders delivered the next day, following Amazon's recently announced plans to spend $800 million for one-day delivery for all Amazon Prime members. CNBC reports: Walmart said Tuesday it is rolling out next-day delivery in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Southern California over the next few days and will expand it to reach roughly 75% of American consumers by the end of 2019, including 40 of the top 50 major metros. Amazon hasn't yet detailed a timeline for its own rollout of next-day shipping. But even before its April announcement, the company had offered same-day and two-hour delivery for Prime members in certain markets for certain products and at an additional cost. Amazon's next-day shipping plan expands the number of items and ZIP codes eligible for expedited service.

Walmart isn't disclosing the cost of its latest delivery push. But the company says it has been working on it for quite some time. To start, next-day delivery will be available for about 220,000 items "most frequently purchased" online, Walmart said, including toys and electronics. The company said it plans to make more items available to ship next day over time. And the option is only free for orders over $35. Amazon, for comparison, has no minimum purchase threshold for free, next-day delivery but requires customers to have a Prime membership, which costs $119 annually.

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Walmart Announces Next-Day Delivery, Firing Back At Amazon

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  • by zippo01 ( 688802 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @05:52PM (#58593538)
    I ordered this years ago and its just now getting here?
  • by bjwest ( 14070 ) on Tuesday May 14, 2019 @05:58PM (#58593566)
    If Walmart were smart, they'd make a deal with the USPO for free next day delivery of items in stock at the local B&M store. Order before 6pm and have it delivered with your regular mail the next day. Hell, it might even be less expensive if they bought a truck or two and delivered the items locally themselves.
    • If Walmart were smart, they'd make a deal with the USPO for free next day delivery of items in stock at the local B&M store. Order before 6pm and have it delivered with your regular mail the next day.

      Hmm... What would be chances that Walmart would also incur the wrath of Trump for such a deal?
      He has already railed pretty hard against Amazon for their delivery deals with the USPS:

      Trump Said Amazon Was Scamming the Post Office. ... [nytimes.com]
      Trump is doubling down on his claims that Amazon uses the US Postal Service as a 'delivery boy,' ... [businessinsider.com]

      [ Or just Google: Trump Amazon USPS ]

      • by bjwest ( 14070 )

        Hmm... What would be chances that Walmart would also incur the wrath of Trump for such a deal? He has already railed pretty hard against Amazon for their delivery deals with the USPS:

        Yeah, those rallies have pretty much devastated Amazon.

      • Trump hates Bezos. I think he's OK with the Walton family.

        I'm fine with Amazon. I refuse to do business with Walmart.

    • by pnutjam ( 523990 )

      Hell, it might even be less expensive if they bought a truck or two and delivered the items locally themselves.

      Looks like you have a great future as a general manager or a sales consultant.

      I think they would need more then a couple trucks...

      • by bjwest ( 14070 )

        Hell, it might even be less expensive if they bought a truck or two and delivered the items locally themselves.

        Looks like you have a great future as a general manager or a sales consultant. I think they would need more then a couple trucks...

        In some areas sure, but in others two truck would suffice, at least to start. When more people started using the service, either increase your deliver fleet or use the USPS, which ever is least expensive. Shirley you're not suggesting that a business should purchase a fleet of 1000 trucks when they're just starting up with only 100 customers a day, are you?

        • by pnutjam ( 523990 )
          To make a reasonable roll-out at walmart your going to have to trial multiple stores, and you're probably going to need at least 5 trucks for a store. My local autozone has a couple trucks and they only deliver to mechanics.
          • by bjwest ( 14070 )
            Your local Autozone most likely delivers immediately, or shortly after order, too. I'm talking a single day's delivery in one trip, and within a localized area of, say, the same zip-code as the store. One or two trucks may suffice to start, and if not buy a couple more. Hell, that one sentence wasn't a business plan for Walmart to take and implement on the spot, it was the equivalent of a scribble on a bar room napkin.
    • In Houston, and I suspect in many metro areas, USPS does deliver overnight when sending items first class. I'm sure Walmart is counting on this, with or without a "special" deal.

  • I always wondered why Sears didn't go this route, they had both mail order and delivery to B&M, all they needed was the last mile. Lack of vision.
    • by Anonymous Coward

      Because everyone at the top were more concerned with how to siphon off money made to their bank accounts instead of investing in the company.

      • by sconeu ( 64226 )

        That was after K-Mart bought them out.

        As an aside, I never figured out how K-Mart could afford to do that. Apparently, neither did K-Mart.

        • That was after K-Mart bought them out.

          As an aside, I never figured out how K-Mart could afford to do that. Apparently, neither did K-Mart.

          Kmart owned most of the properties their stores were built on while most such businesses lease the land. When they went bankrupt the first time they sold a lot of well, lots. Closed low performing stores sold the much more valuable land they were sitting on and came out with more money than they knew how to manage, bought Sears which they also did not know how to manage and drove both brands into the ground. (there is more to the story mostly involving a corrupt CEO loaning Sears Holding hundereds of millio

          • by pnutjam ( 523990 )
            Sears also had a ton of good property, which was leveraged to suck money out of the company.
    • I think it may have to do with how retail is structured. Shelves are leased to manufacturers of the products, and the manufacturers bid on placement within. If the merchant prioritizes delivery, this paradigm may need to be revisited, as the underlying concept is in conflict with the idea of decreasing the amount of time customers spend wandering the store, looking for the items they actually need. Walmart is brilliantly setup to exploit wanderers, with the staggeringly large stores with inefficient seeming
  • Next Day Delivery would be great but Walmart NEVER has anything in stock. Every time I want to order something from Walmart it is always out of stock. Their site is completely useless.
  • Amazon shook up the retail landscape. Other retailers up their game to compete. We all win!

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