So many of us have become reliant on Amazon for two-day shipping (or faster) on hundreds of thousands of items on a daily basis, such as household goods, electronics, pet food, toys, car parts, clothing, and just about anything you could possibly need. And up until now, Amazon has cornered the market on this two-day shipping.
It looks like that’s about to change, however, because starting today, Walmart announced two-day shipping on more than two million items to homes and in stores. And unlike Amazon, which charges a $99 per year fee, Walmart’s free shipping is no membership required. Previously, Walmart tested a $49 per year two-day ShippingPass program to select customers, so this has the potential to be an even greater competition to Amazon. And like Amazon, Walmart has also lowered the minimum purchase required for free shipping to $35 (down from $50), matching Amazon. (In-store shipping will still have no minimum requirement.)
Via a press release found on Walmart’s website:
“I couldn’t be more excited. We are moving at the speed of a startup,” said Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. eCommerce. “Two-day free shipping is the first of many moves we will be making to enhance the customer experience and accelerate growth.”
“In today’s world of e-commerce, two-day free shipping is table stakes. It no longer makes sense to charge for it,” added Lore.
With the company taking hits in recent years, it only makes sense that Walmart would adapt to this sort of business model. Of course, while they may woo away some of Amazon’s customers who shell out primarily for free shipping, an Amazon subscription still does boast unlimited streaming of TV shows and movies (including Amazon’s original programming), as well as photo storage and a music service.