Walmart has launched Express Pickup at 500 US stores, offering curbside pickup for app orders in as soon as one hour. Walmart+ members can use the service without a fee. The retailer plans to expand the program nationwide in the coming weeks, in time for Thanksgiving.
The pickup window matches Walmart’s one-hour Express delivery. The retailer also delivers by drone in 30 minutes or less, and in three hours through its on-demand service.
The service adds another option to Walmart’s store-based fulfillment network. About 80% of its ecommerce deliveries flow through stores, David Guggina, president and CEO of Walmart US, said at a Goldman Sachs conference in September. Nearly 40% of all deliveries come from stores within hours or minutes, he said.
Walmart’s US ecommerce sales rose 24% last quarter, which the company credited partly to store-fulfilled delivery.
Walmart is also letting AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini direct shoppers to its site. Amazon, by contrast, has blocked outside shopping agents.
Meanwhile, Kroger is shifting online grocery fulfillment back toward stores, closing three Ocado-built automated fulfillment centers in January. The company said its stores sit closer to customers and can fill delivery orders faster and more cheaply.
Amazon is taking a different approach, planning to expand its dedicated same-day delivery sites from 85 to more than 1,000 by 2031, according to Business Insider. Amazon called the projections preliminary.
