It’s finally time: Walmart is officially ready to take on Amazon’s $99/year two-day shipping service, Prime, by knocking off a delivery day and a dollar from its own ShippingPass subscription service.
The Wall Street Journal reports that starting today subscribers to Walmart’s newly revamped ShippingPass service will receive free two-day shipping for purchases made online.
Previously, the ShippingPass service — which launched last year but is still invitation-only – promised to delivery purchases within three days to subscribers who paid $50/year.
Now, the WSJ reports the service will up its game by mirroring Amazon’s two-day shipping window and has, for some reason, knocked a dollar off its yearly rate to $49/year.
While it’s unclear why Walmart didn’t just start with two-day shipping in the first place, the change was likely tied to the retailer’s recently beefed-up delivery connections and warehouse stock.
The WSJ reports that the company has also recently turned to regional delivery companies to handle its orders, a move that could save the company in shipping costs.
Last August, the company announced it would keep more of certain merchandise in distribution and less in stores, saving the expense of shipping and stocking items, and selling them online instead.
Wal-Mart Bets on Free Two-Day Shipping [The Wall Street Journal]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
No comments:
Post a Comment