What Happened
Walmart has officially started rolling out its 2-day shipping service to all U.S. shoppers as the brick-and-mortar retail giant steps up its ecommerce game to compete with Amazon. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company has been testing 2-day shipping in select markets since last summer, and now it is making its ShippingPass membership, which offers free two-day shipping and costs $49 per year, available for all domestic customers. Walmart is also offering a 30-day free trial to entice signups.
What Retailers Need To Do
This move is illustrative of Walmart’s plan of building out its ecommerce services and locking in customers with an Amazon Prime-like membership. This is not the first time Walmart has ventured into quick delivery service – it started a partnership with Uber and Lyft to enable on-demand grocery delivery for customers in June. As more and more consumers turn to online shopping for the convenience and flexibility, physical retailers need to learn from their online competitors and start branching out into the ecommerce space and exploring new ways to modernize their shopping experience.
To learn more on what retailers can do to reach today’s connected shoppers across sales channels, please check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.
Source: AdWeek