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Walmart unveils Walmart+, a $98/yr Amazon Prime competitor

Real

Real

Member
Oct 28, 2017
5,423
finance.yahoo.com

Walmart unveils 'ultimate life hack,' a $98 membership with access to gas, groceries and free delivery

Walmart+ will rollout nationwide on Sept. 15, which the retailer is calling 'the ultimate life hack'
finance.yahoo.com finance.yahoo.com

The service, Walmart+, will cost $98 a year. That is lower than the $119 charged for Amazon Prime, which set the bar for e-commerce membership services, but Walmart+ will require an order of at least $35 to qualify for the free shipping, while Prime does not have a minimum.

Walmart said many of the 160,000 items that would qualify for the free shipping would be delivered directly from its stores to customers' homes. Walmart hopes, with its thousands of stores closer to customers, that the strategy will help keep food fresher and costs lower than competitors'. Walmart+ members will also receive a 5-cent-a-gallon discount at affiliated gas stations.

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jwk94

jwk94

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,422
No checkout lines?? In stores?? How? Are they gonna have you scan your stuff with your phone?
 
killerrin

killerrin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,238
Toronto
Those fuel discounts better be massive, or the no line checkout experience better be truly flawless.

Because otherwise I can't see why anyone would get this over Prime. Especially since prime not only has no price minimums for shipping...but also gives you movies, tv and music... Storage and gaming stuff through twitch.
 
vodalus

vodalus

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,220
CT
Amazon may be an evil monolith, but they weren't successful for no reason. Everything Amazon does well, Walmart has zero experience in or has proven to be unable to do, so this is a weird direction.
 
Kthulhu

Kthulhu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,670
Outside of more rural customers I can't really see it catching on. Low income customers probably don't have the extra cash to pay for something like this.
 
jml

jml

Member
Mar 9, 2018
4,783
Maintenance said:
That's a pretty big amount.
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That's why the only real benefit I see from this is if you do a lot of your grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Then maybe the free delivery will make it worth it. I don't shop for my groceries at Wal-Mart though so I have very little interest in this.
 
skeptem

skeptem

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,748
I have to say. It doesn't sound that great. I don't have prime either, but this doesn't sound appealing to me.

I think Target has the best program with a 5% off and free shipping if you have a Target Debit card.
 
Rocketz

Rocketz

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,923
Metro Detroit
killerrin said:
Those fuel discounts better be massive, or the no line checkout experience better be truly flawless.

Because otherwise I can't see why anyone would get this over Prime. Especially since prime not only has no price minimums for shipping...but also gives you movies, tv and music... Storage and gaming stuff through twitch.
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It's 5 cents a gallon. Hell Kroger gives you 3 cents just for being a Kroger member and that's free. Plus you get 10 cents for every $100 you spend.
 
Pein

Pein

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,232
NYC
you can usually get 2 day shipping at target if your order is at least $35 if I'm not mistaken.
 
moblin

moblin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,107
Москва
5c is nothing when 10c is increasingly becoming the norm for cross-promotions.

I suppose this makes more sense if you live far from an Amazon distro hub but that's becoming increasingly rare anyway.
 
Norris1020

Norris1020

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,461
It's $35 min now without having to pay almost $100 a year. I'll just stick with Prime, thanks.
 
Waggles

Waggles

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,123
I don't understand why this is a paid service. Wasn't $35 = free shipping already a thing on the website?

as for the phone checkout, my local Smiths store brought out handheld devices a few months before the first lockdown, didthe same thing and worked beautifully. Why is walmart charging for the same service, all while uiltizing the user's device?

frankly, bad time to release this, especially after just offloading vudu, which could have provided enticing service options like Prime does with amazon video.
 
Daria

Daria

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,881
The Twilight Zone
vodalus said:
Amazon may be an evil monolith, but they weren't successful for no reason. Everything Amazon does well, Walmart has zero experience in or has proven to be unable to do, so this is a weird direction.
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walmart has been using a subscription model, scan-and-go, and order pickup inside Sam's Club for a while now.

saying they have "zero experience" in this area is flat out wrong
 
Cronogear

Cronogear

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,982
Prime has far more benefits than this, in addition to no minimum for free shipping.

Doesn't sound worth it at all, even if it is a bit cheaper.
 
Phineous_2

Phineous_2

Member
Oct 29, 2017
507
I've been using this for groceries for a couple of months and I will probably go yearly next month.

I've had groceries delivered weekly with my only complaint being the obvious one... It's wal mart.

Service is fine, though. Food is fine and refunds haven't been questioned yet.
 
Caddywompus

Caddywompus

Member
Mar 10, 2018
914
vodalus said:
Amazon may be an evil monolith, but they weren't successful for no reason. Everything Amazon does well, Walmart has zero experience in or has proven to be unable to do, so this is a weird direction.
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Not really Instacart is huge in this new pandemic life. Besides having a ton of Walmarts every 15 - 30 miles means you can get in stock store items delivered that day as cheap if not cheaper than Amazon/Whole Foods.
 
spyroflame0487

spyroflame0487

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 3, 2017
3,085
I had literally never heard or seen of the gas stations they mentioned so i don't know if its a regional thing or what. Would have been more interesting if they went with a national chain and you either got money off or something that way (shell does that i believe)

Looks like the "no checkout lines" is just the scan and go feature that a few chain grocery stores (Meijer, Whole Foods) already have. And for free.
 
Daria

Daria

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,881
The Twilight Zone
it seems a lot of people ITT are forgetting that AmazonFresh is not widely available in all areas. This is geared toward rural shoppers who have walmart as their only choice. it's a smart move for those that don't want to shell out the $$ for a Sams membership
 
jwk94

jwk94

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,422
I can see this being valuable on black Friday. Skipping those lines would be phenomenal. But $95 is a lot.
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

signature-less, now and forever
Member
Sep 24, 2019
34,380
Can't decide what sounds worse - stepping foot inside of a Wal-Mart or having an online subscription to the company.
 
Marnie

Marnie

The Fallen
Dec 3, 2018
794
Seems dead on arrival. What is the point of paying $98.00 a year when their is still a free shipping threshold? Also, only 5 cents a gallon? May as well get a Costco membership for the gas savings instead.
 
Snake__

Snake__

Member
Jan 8, 2020
2,450
They currently have free shipping on $35+ for no subscription fee, that part has to be a typo
 
The Albatross

The Albatross

Member
Oct 25, 2017
39,038
The $35 minimum, with a price very close to Amazon PRime, and none of the extras of Amazon prime (Kindle deals, prime TV/movies, music, etc) makes it a tough sell. I just never think to order anything from Walmart, and being from the North east Walmart just doesn't have a *huge* retail presence like in other regions (make no doubt, they have a huge presence, but it's not as monolithic as it is elsewhere... Walmart didn't really become commonplace around me until ... I dunno, 2010 maybe).
 
Skytylz

Skytylz

Member
Oct 25, 2017
780
So much stuff on walmart is free delivery already, or at least pick up at a nearby walmart. Seems pointless.
 
MechaMarmaset

MechaMarmaset

Member
Nov 20, 2017
3,582
Walmart already does free 2-day shipping on orders over $35. Now they're just giving you the option to pay $100 a year for it?

Walmart:
  • 5 cents per gallon on gas
  • Free shipping on $35 orders
  • Skip the line
Amazon:
  • Free shipping on any amount, with next day and same day delivery available in some areas
  • Prime Video
  • Prime wardrobe where they ship a set of clothes out to you to try on.
  • Prime Music
  • Twitch free monthly subscription
  • 5% back at whole foods
  • 5% back at amazon if you sign up for their prime credit card
  • Prime Reading where you can read some select books and comics for free
 
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Kmonk

Kmonk

#TeamThierry
Member
Oct 30, 2017
3,695
US
vodalus said:
Amazon may be an evil monolith, but they weren't successful for no reason. Everything Amazon does well, Walmart has zero experience in or has proven to be unable to do, so this is a weird direction.
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I worked at Walmart Ecomm a few years ago, when they really started to invest in an online presence (this was right when they bought Jet.com).

The whole operation was just throwing bodies at the idea of making a site like Amazon, oxymoronically combined with the legendary stinginess of Walmart. We were ridiculously overstaffed with duplicative and unclear positions, but many of these roles were filled with contractors who received little training or support (this was how, in my desperation, I ended up there). The backend was an absolute mess, comprised of layers upon layers of legacy merchandising software. I hated the look and feel of the site, and it really hasn't improved- just gotten slightly more Amazon looking.

One personal anecdote to describe the "culture": they had an employee appreciation day, which included a free breakfast in the cafeteria, and I believe some sort of live music? But something like 40% of the workers in the building couldn't attend, because we were contractors rather than employees. They even posted security guards at the doors of the cafeteria to make sure we couldn't get in!
 
Bigkrev

Bigkrev

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,322
Daria said:
it seems a lot of people ITT are forgetting that AmazonFresh is not widely available in all areas. This is geared toward rural shoppers who have walmart as their only choice. it's a smart move for those that don't want to shell out the $$ for a Sams membership
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Yeah, this is the real point of this service. AmazonFresh is what, 20 cities in the whole country? Where as this is going to cover 99% of the country for grocery delivery
 
CGriffiths86

CGriffiths86

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,845
We already have the $98/year unlimited grocery delivery. Im assuming this is the same thing and will roll into 1?
 
jwk94

jwk94

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,422
CDX said:
Sams Club is $45 for regular membership

like $100 for a Plus Membership, which has some exclusive shopping hours, and free online shipping, but it's slow shipping.
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Damn, this is really expensive then. Idk if I'd pay for this just to use it on black firday.
 
Distantmantra

Distantmantra

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,164
Seattle
Regardless of the fact that I refuse to shop at Walmart, we don't even have one in Seattle so the brick and mortar bonuses are meaningless to me.
 

Deleted member 16908

Oct 27, 2017
9,377
That's a lot of money to pay for service from people who will break your TV.
 
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