Wal-Mart Plans to Test Grocery Delivery Through Uber, Lyft
The retailer will start trying out Uber in Phoenix and Lyft in Denver within the next two weeks, Wal-Mart’s chief operating officer of e-commerce, Michael Bender, said in a statement. The company previously began a pilot program in March using Deliv to deliver Sam’s Club groceries and other merchandise in Miami.
The move steps up competition with Amazon’s burgeoning grocery-delivery service and provides a potential new avenue of growth for Uber and Lyft. The idea is to let Wal-Mart customers pick out groceries online and then have employees fill the order and give it to one of the ride-hailing companies’ drivers. Shoppers will pay a $7-to-$10 delivery charge to Wal-Mart to have the groceries brought to their door.
Greater use of technology was a theme of Wal-Mart’s annual meeting June 3 in Bentonville, Arkansas, with Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon pointing to e-commerce spending and sales-floor advancements. He also used the new Facebook Live service to connect with associates.
“Our investments in education and training, store structure, wages, hours and sales floor technology are to support you and enable you to serve your customers and members,” he said.
The delivery push has taken on greater urgency as Americans shift more of their spending online. Wal-Mart previously began offering home delivery in Denver and San Jose, California. It also encourages customers to place orders online and pick up the goods at stores — a bid to capitalize on its thousands of U.S. locations.
“We’ll start small and let our customers guide us, but testing new things like last-mile delivery allow us to better evaluate the various ways we can best serve our customers how, when and where they need us,” Bender said.
