🚀 Walmart's Big Expansion
Walmart now reaches 93% of U.S. households with same-day delivery. In Q4, the retailer expanded its delivery areas using advanced geospatial tech. This follows its October 2023 milestone of covering 80% of the U.S. CEO Doug McMillon wants more people to know about Walmart's vast online assortment and increasing speed. Walmart’s store network gives it a key advantage in the race against Amazon.
📍 Tech-Powered Reach
Walmart is using geospatial tech and customer data to expand delivery zones. Unlike traditional zip-code-based coverage, its Spark platform customizes areas for efficiency. This innovation added 12M more homes to Walmart’s delivery network in January. CFO John David Rainey said this approach significantly outperforms old delivery models. Walmart is maximizing store proximity to serve customers faster.
⏩ Customers Want Speed
Fast delivery is a priority for shoppers. Over 30% of Walmart’s orders include express delivery within three hours. Demand surged on Christmas Eve, when 77% of orders required express speeds. Walmart is competing directly with Amazon, which delivered 9B items same-day or next-day in 2024. The push for speed is driven by changing consumer habits and rising expectations for convenience.
💰 Smarter, Cheaper Delivery
Walmart cut U.S. net delivery cost per order by 20% in Q4. More deliveries per route helped lower expenses, making delivery more profitable. Rainey explained that drivers now serve multiple homes per trip instead of one. Walmart’s scale gives it an edge in spreading costs over a larger volume of orders. This efficiency, combined with store-based fulfillment, strengthens its position against Amazon.
Can Walmart’s delivery expansion challenge Amazon’s dominance?
