Walmart Takes On Amazon With New Two-Hour Express Delivery Option

Walmart has announced its launch of Express Delivery, a new shipping option that gets customers their goods within two hours. According to Walmart, it boosted its development and launch of this new option in light of the fact that many shoppers are now stuck at home and turning to online shopping options. Express Delivery will be offered in around 1,000 stores by early May with more to follow.

Walmart says that it conducted a pilot of the new shipping option in 100 stores starting around mid-April, something that it will now expand to cover around 1,000 stores by the beginning of May. The expansion will continue from there and arrive in more than 2,000 stores 'in the following weeks,' according to the company.

According to Walmart, more than 160,000 items found in Walmart stores, including general merchandise and food, are available for Express Delivery, which delivers the products in less than two hours. The service could be used to, for example, get a last-minute gift while you prepare for a party or to get the items you forgot to pick up the last time you went to the store.

Walmart's Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside said:

We know our customers' lives have changed during this pandemic, and so has the way they shop. We also know when we come out of this, customers will be busier than ever, and sometimes that will call for needing supplies in a hurry. COVID-19 has prompted us to launch Express Delivery even faster so that we're here for our customers today and in the future.

This new option is in addition to regular product shipments, as well as the company's online grocery service, which can be used to order groceries online for pickup or delivery. The new option amplifies Walmart's push against competitor Amazon, which has largely dominated online shopping but without the advantage of physical retail stores. Express Delivery costs $10 extra on top of the usual delivery charge.