Walmart has announced a new service, Express Delivery, that will deliver more items from the store to customers’ doors faster than ever. This service allows customers to order more than 160,000 items from the company’s food, consumables, and merchandise like groceries, everyday essentials, toys, and electronics. Express Delivery will cost $10 on top of the current delivery price, but like the company’s regular pick-up and delivery options, the price of the item is the same as the in-store price.
The service’s development was accelerated due to the pandemic, being tested in 100 stores since mid-April. It will be expanded to around 1,000 stores in early May and eventually to 2,000 in the following weeks.
“We know our customers’ lives have changed during this pandemic and so has the way they shop,” said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, Walmart, in a press release. “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.”
The expanded Express Delivery option joins the brand’s other no-contact services for the customer. Express Delivery relies upon Walmart’s 74,000 personal shoppers, and they have hired more personal shoppers for just Express Delivery.
“We have an opportunity to serve our customers no matter what life calls for,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, Customer Product, in the same news release. “Whether it be a last-minute ingredient, medicine when a fever hits, or the item you didn’t know you needed when checking off your chore list, time matters. Express is a solve for that.”
To access the new Express Delivery option, customers can simply go to the grocery section on the Walmart website or their app and search your zip code to see if Express Delivery is offered in their area. Then, shop like usual. At checkout, select the Express option with the added price for that service. Lastly, wait until the item arrives.
Walmart has made recent news for several other changes to help keep customers and employees safe during the COVID-19 outbreak, including announcements of one-way aisles in stores and contactless pick-up options for curbside pick-up.