WALMART and Amazon are two of the largest retailers in the world and compete fiercely in the retail market, including in the supermarket sector.
Even though Amazon beats Walmart Plus in numbers, a retail expert shared an important way to choose the service that’s right for you.
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Launched in September 2020, Walmart+ is a subscription-based subscription service.
Walmart created the service during the pandemic, when online sales were rampant due to shoppers feeling that grocery pickup was safer than shopping in person.
Walmart is the largest retailer in the world and consistently surpasses Amazon as its biggest competitor every year, so the retailer was forced to create a program to compete with Amazon Prime.
Prime launched in 2005 and has more than 200 million subscribers, while Walmart+ has been active for about four years and is estimated to have somewhere under 100 million members.
Walmart’s chief customer officer, Janey Whiteside, denied claims that the service was intended to compete with Prime.
“We are not launching Walmart+ with the intention of competing with anything else,” she said on a 2020 conference call with reporters.
“We are launching it to meet the needs of our customers and it is truly designed to make their busy lives easier. We believe it offers a comprehensive set of online and in-store benefits that help people save time and money in a variety of areas.”
To explore why companies create paid services, The US Sun spoke with Mitchell Olsen, a marketing professor at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, who specializes in retail.
Olsen explained that big brands create these platforms to deepen consumer loyalty.
“Retailers benefit from more loyal shoppers, who will shift more of their overall spend to that specific retailer and away from their competitors,” he explained.
Walmart’s Whiteside agreed when he noted in 2020 that Walmart+’s goal was to strengthen customer loyalty rather than compete with Prime.
“It’s really about doubling down on the customers that we have and getting more share of the wallet and more share of the mind,” he said.
Prime members spent 113% more than non-members every month on online purchases, according to PEPPERS.
Walmart+ has less control over shoppers’ wallets, with Walmart+ users spending just 15% more than non-members each month when shopping online and 10% less when shopping in-store.
These paid platforms also bring benefits to consumers.
From a customer perspective, buyers opt into these programs because they save money, time and frustration, according to Olsen.
CHOOSE YOUR POISON
When choosing between Amazon Prime and Walmart+, shoppers should consider how much they’re willing to pay and which perks are most important to them.
Amazon Prime generally offers more benefits than Walmart+, including access to Amazon’s host of services like Prime Video, Music, and Gaming.
However, the extra services will cost more — Amazon Prime costs $41 more each year than Walmart+.
The higher price may not be worth it for shoppers who primarily plan to use Amazon’s service for online shopping.
Walmart Plus x Amazon Prime
Walmart and Amazon are the two dominant retailers across the world. Here is a comparison of their paid services:
Walmart Plus:
- $12.95 per month or $98 per year
- Free delivery on orders of $35 or more
- Free Next Day, Two Day and Standard Shipping on orders sold and shipped by Walmart
- Free Paramount+ Essential Plan
- Access to Walmart+ Week discounts
- Member savings on fuel
- Free tire repair and guarantee against road hazards
- Free home returns
- Access to mobile scan & go
Amazon Prime:
- $14.99 per month or $139 per year
- Free one- and two-day delivery on eligible products
- Free Amazon Fresh grocery delivery for orders over $100
- Free Amazon Video
- Access to Prime Day discounts
- Free Prime Reading
- Free Prime Games
- Free Amazon Music
- Free Amazon Photos
- Amazon Pharmacy
- Try before you buy
- Exclusive savings at Whole Foods Market
See more information:
Amazon customers can choose from hundreds of millions of products on Prime.
On the other hand, Walmart+ users have access to around 200,000 products.
Amazon also has cheaper prices, according to a study by Profiter.
The internet commerce analytics platform compared the two platforms and found that Amazon offered the lowest prices on video games and fashion, but only had a slight edge on beauty and toys.
Profitero compared the regular prices of about 14,000 products and concluded that Amazon offered cheaper prices than Walmart and 12 other retailers, including Best Buy, CVS, Home Depot, Macy’s and Target.
The study also found that Amazon offered cheaper food.
However, shoppers looking to order groceries should take Amazon Prime and Walmart+ delivery fees into consideration.
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Through Amazon’s grocery service, Amazon Fresh, delivery orders over $100 with a two-hour delivery time are free with Prime.
Orders of $50 to $100 with a two-hour delivery time incur a $6.95 service fee, and orders under $50 include a $9.95 fee.
On the other hand, there are no delivery fees for orders over $35 for Walmart+ members.
Olsen noted that most buyers choose a platform based on the one they think will save them the most money overall.
For example, in the case of Walmart+, “it’s certainly worth it for those who would otherwise spend significantly more than $98 per year on grocery deliveries, a Paramount+ subscription, and undiscounted gas prices.”
The platform you subscribe to ultimately depends on your purchasing preferences and needs.
US Sun previously spoke with Olsen about why Walmart is the most dominant retailer in the world.
He also discussed why chain restaurants are closing.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
