Amazon is no longer the only Goliath in town with one-day shipping. Walmart has announced they are offering the same luxury, which will roll out in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Southern California this week and expand to “roughly 75% of American consumers by the end of 2019.”
The retailer has been working on this for the past several years. About 220,000 items will be eligible for next-day delivery to start, and more will be added over time. There’s one caveat, however: the option will only be free for orders over $35. There is no such minimum for Amazon Prime members, although they do have a membership fee to contend with.
When Amazon made its one-day shipping the new standard for all Prime customers last month it sent shares of Walmart and Target tumbling, as investors worried bricks-and-mortar retailers would now have to spend more money to match the e-commerce giant’s steps. Walmart’s stock price was up 0.5% in Tuesday’s premarket. Amazon shares were 1% higher.