Walmart has expanded its same-day delivery coverage, now reaching 93% of US households.
The increase in store-fulfilled delivery reach took place in Q4, the company announced in its earnings release.
The move builds on Walmart’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its delivery network. In October 2023, the retailer was already offering same-day delivery to over 80% of the US population.
“If I could change anything about how we’re perceived today, it’d be that more people know about our breadth of assortment online and our increasing delivery speed,” Doug McMillion, CEO of Walmart, said on an earnings call.
Key to this expansion is Walmart’s ability to extend store delivery zones, or ‘catchment areas’ with help from advanced geospatial technology.
The company’s Spark delivery platform, using customer data and external insights, has enabled delivery to an additional 12 million households.
“These catchments are customized for each store… an approach that far outperforms traditional metrics such as zip code or distance from the store,” Walmart stated.
The retail giant’s efforts come as competition for faster shipping intensifies, with Amazon delivering over 9 billion packages on the same or next day in 2024.
Walmart executives see strong consumer demand for speed, with more than 30% of orders including paid upgrades for delivery within three hours – rising to 77% on Christmas Eve.
Lower delivery costs are also a factor, with Walmart cutting its US net delivery cost per order by 20% in Q4, thanks to better route efficiency, John David Rainey, chief financial officer at Walmart, said.
“Think of this as one of our drivers instead of delivering a package to one house on the street is now hitting four or five houses on that street,” he added.
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