Commerce

What is Walmart Plus (Walmart+)?

By Tinuiti Team

Amazon currently holds the top spot in online retail thanks in large part to the incredible popularity of their Amazon Prime offering. But Prime isn’t the only benefit-packed paid subscription service available to consumers, with Walmart+ having earned a healthy subscriber base of its own since launching on September 15, 2020.

While we haven’t yet seen concrete membership numbers made public from Walmart themselves, Retail Dive shared the following in February 2021—when Walmart+ was just 5 months old:

“Five months after Walmart’s membership program, Walmart+, was released, data indicates that it has garnered between 7.4 million and 8.2 million members, signaling a promising start for a potential Amazon Prime rival, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners analysis released Wednesday.”

By comparison, Amazon Prime reportedly has more than 200 million members globally.

Walmart’s online marketplace now consists of more than 88,000 sellers and climbing, with each contributing to the quantity and variety of products available for purchase through Walmart.com.

“Walmart.com has come a long way in a short time in terms of marketplace capabilities; in the types of targeting, ad types, reporting, and the sophistication of the platform overall. Brands looking for ecommerce growth beyond Amazon should consider the opportunity of selling on Walmart’s online marketplace.”

 

— Elizabeth Marsten, Senior Director of Strategic Marketplace Services at Tinuiti

 

In this post you will learn:

 

What is Walmart+, and What Benefits Does It Offer?

 

Walmart+ is a membership program currently available at a monthly cost of $12.95, or a cost-saving annual price of $98. Walmart bills the offering as, “The membership that helps you save more time & money.”

 

Walmart+ Savings
Image Source: https://www.walmart.com/plus

 

Benefits of a Walmart+ membership include:

 

Free Shipping. Walmart+ members enjoy free two-day shipping and next-day shipping on items purchased on Walmart.com that are also shipped by Walmart. It’s important to note that the item can be sold by a third-party seller and be eligible, as long as that seller is shipping their items through Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). Some items are excluded—including oversized and freight items—with all other purchases shipping free, with no order minimum to be met.

Free Delivery from Your Walmart Store. Members also enjoy free delivery of grocery items and more from their local Walmart store, with dedicated delivery time slots reserved for Walmart+ members. Unlike orders from Walmart.com that have no minimum order requirements, there is a $35 order minimum for free, from-store delivery.

Fuel Savings. Walmart+ subscribers enjoy savings of up to 5 cents per gallon on fuel purchases made at Walmart and Murphy stations. Their membership also grants them access to member pricing at Sam’s Club stations.

Mobile Scan & Go. For shoppers looking for a quick and contact-free shopping experience, this one is a serious perk. Walmart+ members can download the Walmart app to shop and checkout using just their phone.

 

Prior to launching Walmart+, the retailer offered a Delivery Unlimited subscription at the same price, which included free delivery from Walmart stores. Walmart+ expands greatly on the Delivery Unlimited member benefits at no additional cost. Existing members of the Delivery Unlimited subscription were automatically enrolled in Walmart+ when that service was sunset.

Walmart+ vs Amazon Prime

 

Walmart+ Pros and Cons:

 

The perks available through Walmart+ aren’t yet as diverse or robust as those Amazon Prime offers, but the service is still in its infancy by comparison. While Amazon Prime was launched more than 15 years ago, Walmart+ hasn’t yet reached its first birthday.

Pros

 

 

 

 

 

Cons

 

 

 

 

Amazon Prime Pros and Cons:

 

Amazon simply isn’t able to offer many of the Walmart+ perks that are inherently more suited towards physical shopping than online shopping. This plays to Walmart’s strengths since Walmart has thousands of physical locations all over the world—more than 4,700 in the US alone—and Amazon does not.

That being said, Amazon owns Whole Foods and offers grocery delivery through Prime Now, Amazon Fresh, and Prime Pantry, so they have addressed some of the gaps of being an online business through strategic acquisitions and partnerships.

Pros

 

 

 

 

 

Cons

 

 

 

 

Is there an obvious winner?

 

Top 10 US Companies Ranked by 2021 Retail Ecommerce Sales
Image Source: https://www.emarketer.com/content/top-10-us-ecommerce-companies-2021-plus-6-key-takeaways-our-latest-forecast

Not exactly. There’s no clear winner when it comes to these ecommerce giants — except, maybe, the customer, as options to buy nearly anything online continue to grow. Amazon and Walmart are both part of an evolving retail landscape, both online and off.

Overall, Amazon has a big head start on Walmart, especially when it comes to third-party sales and marketplaces. But Walmart could catch up, especially if they continue to develop the resources and digital marketing opportunities they offer marketplace sellers.

 

Tinuiti’s Walmart Strategy

 

Walmart is making strides in the right direction by working to expand its ecommerce platform and marketing capabilities — but brands can still find that navigating the marketplace and leveraging the right strategies is a challenge.

Sellers looking to make the most of their Walmart operations shouldn’t have to go it alone — which is why Tinuiti’s marketplace experts are here to help.

Here’s why you should consider Tinuiti’s Walmart Ecommerce program:

 

If you want to learn more about our Walmart services, drop us a line and we’ll be in touch!

 

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published by Tara Johnson in April 2020 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

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