Walmart Launches Delivery Service for Other Retailers

From groceries to general merchandise, Walmart GoLocal offers alternative to Instacart and Amazon
Walmart Launches Delivery Service for Other Retailers
Walmart's delivery capabilities are powered by its Spark Driver platform, which operates similarly to other service providers who rely on crowd-sourced labor.

Walmart GoLocal is the name of a new white-label, crowd-sourced delivery service now available to all types of retailers.

The service is billed as a way for local merchants as well as large retailers to tap into Walmart’s online order fulfillment capabilities involving product delivery. Those capabilities largely involve access to an on-demand, crowdsourced labor pool, similar to what other service providers offer, that Walmart has branded as Spark.

“In an era where customers have come to expect speed and reliability, it’s more important than ever for businesses to work with a service provider that understands a merchant’s needs,” John Furner, president and CEO, Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “Walmart has spent years building and scaling commerce capabilities that support our network of more than 4,700 stores and we look forward to helping other businesses have access to the same reliable, quality and low-cost services.”  

The Walmart GoLocal website touts the retailers’ ability to accommodate deliveries for a wide range of retailers.

“If you sell it we’ll deliver it. We handle a wide range of products from power tools to kiddie pools. We can deliver everything from groceries to general merch – even oversize items. Reliability is of utmost importance to us,” according to the retailer’s website.

Walmart currently offers delivery on 160,000 items from more than 3,000 of its stores within reach of nearly 70% of the U.S. population. Walmart GoLocal taps into that capability as a white-label delivery as a service offering that empowers businesses to grow using Walmart’s delivery capabilities and nationwide coverage. The offering includes delivery on a range of orders, including those with size and complex requirements, as well as the flexibility to meet varying timelines. The business will also rapidly expand to offer additional innovative offerings, according to Walmart.

“We’ve worked hard to develop a reliable last mile delivery program for our customers,” said Tom Ward, SVP, last mile, Walmart U.S. “Now, we’re pleased to be able to use these capabilities to serve another set of customers – local merchants. Be it delivering goods from a local bakery to auto supplies from a national retailer, we’ve designed Walmart GoLocal to be customizable for merchants of all sizes and categories so they can focus on doing what they do best, leaving delivery speed and efficiency to us.”

Walmart GoLocal has already established a number of contractual agreements with national and enterprise retail clients and is currently accepting select new merchant partners, according to the company.

The new business is an important part of the company’s overall strategy, which includes diversifying its revenue streams and profit pools with initiatives like Walmart Connect and Walmart Fulfillment Services.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates more than 10,500 stores under 48 banners in 24 countries, and e-commerce websites, employing 2.2 million-plus associates worldwide. Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Walmart-owned Sam’s Club ranks No. 9 on the list.

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