Walmart throws down gauntlet to Amazon with subscription service launch

The world’s biggest bricks-and-mortar retailer has unveiled details of its Walmart+ membership programme, which will go toe-to-toe with Amazon Prime. 

Walmart said its scheme “brings together in-store and online benefits to save customers money and time like no other retailer can”. 

Walmart+ will be available to all customers from September 15, ending months of speculation about the launch date.

The subscription service will cost customers $98 (£73) a year or $12.95 (£9.70) a month, and will include a 15-day free trial period.  

Benefits for members include unlimited free deliveries on more than 160,000 products, fuel discounts and access to the scan-and-go functionality on the existing Walmart app, making shopping in store quicker for customers. 

Asda owner Walmart said the list of benefits “will continue to grow over time”. 

The retailer’s chief customer officer Janey Whiteside said: “We are a company committed to meeting our customers’ needs.

“Customers know they can trust us and depend on us, and we’ve designed this programme as the ultimate life hack for them. Walmart+ will bring together a comprehensive set of benefits where we see the greatest needs from our customers and where our scale can bring solutions at an unprecedented value.”

Whiteside added: “Life feels more complicated than ever. Walmart+ is designed to make it easier – giving customers an option to not have to sacrifice on cost or convenience. 

“We know shopping should fit customers’ needs, not the other way around. We have always been a champion for the right item at the right price, but now it’s more than that. We have the right shopping solutions at the right time, too.”