Walmart (WMT.N), a retailer in the United States, has launched a delivery service to other merchants on Tuesday. This announcement comes at a time when goods sellers are scrambling to secure deliveries in advance of the crucial holiday shopping season.
Walmart is currently testing its first “last-mile” vans that are company-branded. This follows Amazon’s (AMZN.O), FedEx (FDX.N), and the U.S. Pandemic-driven e-commerce demand. Postal Service.
Walmart’s latest program, Walmart GoLocal will send workers from its Spark delivery network directly to local merchants to pick up and deliver items to customers. Walmart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs stated last week that Spark’s coverage has increased to over 500 cities in the past year.
“We looked at potential revenue streams, ways of commercializing the capabilities and scale Walmart has – so we’ll be thinking about that as this program unfolds,” stated Tom Ward, senior vice President of Walmart’s U.S. Last Mile business.
Walmart refused to provide details about the fee structure of the program, but stated that it would be “competitively priced.”
Amazon.com is the number one online retailer in the world. They deliver packages using Flex, a same-day delivery service, and van fleets that drop parcels at doorsteps.
Walmart’s move comes at a time when traditional carriers are facing another chaotic holiday season, which, like last year will see them dealing with more packages than they can deliver.
According to Carol Tome, UPS Chief Executive Officer, the holiday peak season will see 5 million more parcels than usual, which is expected to cause problems for providers.
The company delivers packages to Amazon and Walmart. Recently, the company said that it is exploring super-fast local delivery, in addition to the expensive express deliveries offered by FedEx and its rival FedEx.
