Walmart+ Set to Launch September 15

Need to Know 

• Walmart will launch its membership program, Walmart+, on September 15.
• For $98 per year, following a 15-day free trial, members will receive access to exclusive perks such as free delivery and fuel discounts
• After a highly successful second quarter, the launch of the new program could serve for an even better third quarter.
• Walmart+ was first unveiled nearly half a year ago.

Analysis

After weeks of anticipation, Walmart is finally set to launch its membership program, Walmart+. The program will become available on September 15, reaching over 4,700 Walmart stores. 

For $98 per year, Walmart+ will offer members perks such as unlimited free delivery on groceries and other Walmart items, fuel discounts, access to a new Scan & Go checkout service, and more.

Promising over 160,000 items available for same-day delivery, Walmart+ will match Walmart’s existing Delivery Unlimited program and transfer existing members to the new service. Customers using the service will not be charged delivery fees on orders worth $35 or more. Deliveries will be picked up by existing delivery programs such as DoorDash and Postmates, rather than an in-house team.

Walmart+ members will also gain access to exclusive savings of 5 cents per gallon on any fuel type at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express stations across the United States.

And members of the new service will get to use Walmart’s Scan & Go perk, a service that lets customers scan their products as they shop and pay using Walmart Pay’s touch-free checkout service. This means Walmart+ customers will never have to wait in line—a bonus amid the ongoing pandemic. 

The membership also includes access to the Shopify merchants that list their products on the Walmart Marketplace.  

The new service will become available on September 15, and includes a 15-day free trial. After that customers can pay the $98 in one go or make monthly payments of $12.95. 

The retail giant plans to scale and evolve the program to offer more services over time. 

“We are a company committed to meeting our customers’ needs,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart. “Customers know they can trust us and depend on us, and we’ve designed this program as the ultimate life hack for them. Walmart+ will bring together a comprehensive set of benefits where we see the greatest needs from our customers and where our scale can bring solutions at an unprecedented value.”

Walmart reportedly has plans to eventually roll out a branded credit card as well as a video entertainment function (similar to Amazon’s Prime Video) that Walmart+ members would have access to. 

Despite obvious comparisons to Amazon’s Prime program, Walmart claims their new membership service is not designed to compete with any other brand. 

“We’re not launching Walmart+ with the intent to compete with anything else. We’re launching it with the needs of customers in mind,” explained Whiteside.

“Of course, I hope that brings in more customers and makes them more loyal, but when you’re as big as Walmart is — and serving as many people as we are — this is about really doubling down with the customers that we have and getting more share of wallet and more share of mind,” Whiteside added.

In the past few months alone, Walmart has seen massive growth in online sales, spiking 97% in the second quarter alone. The launch of Walmart+ may contribute to an even more successful third quarter.