After teaming with Subway on deliveries in June, the retail giant announced Thursday (Sept. 3) that it is expanding the program to include Inspire Brands, a restaurant company whose portfolio includes Dunkin’.
As with the Subway program, this service will launch with the 150 Dunkin’ locations based inside Walmarts before expanding to most of the doughnut chain’s stores throughout the country. The service lets customers order from Dunkin’ through the Walmart app or website, having food and beverages delivered along with their Walmart orders.
“The future of retail is about meeting customers wherever they are and simplifying their lives,” said Greg Cathey, Walmart’s senior vice president for eCommerce fulfillment transformation. “By expanding restaurant delivery beyond our stores, we are offering a value and convenience proposition that is unmatched.”
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Walmart executives have continually stressed the idea that quicker fulfillment increases shopping frequency and expands the range of purchases consumers make with the retailer.
Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said during a May earnings call that the company can now reach around 60% of U.S. households in 30 minutes or less. He tied those capabilities to stronger engagement and greater participation in membership programs, which are an increasingly large part of the business.
The quarter’s earnings showed that Walmart customers’ demand for speed and convenience fueled a 26% increase in eCommerce sales and a 45% uptick in U.S. delivery volume.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Global Digital Shopping Index: The AI-Powered Shopper Has Arrived” found that 28% of consumers surveyed in March across the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and Brazil said their most recent purchase was made online.
Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last week about Walmart’s delivery efforts as it competes with Amazon to bring merchandise to shoppers via drone.
Walmart announced a drone infrastructure partnership with Alphabet’s Wing, while Amazon recently announced that its drone delivery service, Prime Air, plans to expand to nearly 500 cities and towns throughout the U.S. by the end of this year.
“The emerging retail battleground … show that low-density commerce is becoming a hotbed of competition,” the report said. “Amazon and Walmart are using technology to win over shoppers in the suburbs, exurbs, smaller cities and, eventually, rural communities where they live relatively close to inventory but where conventional last-mile delivery remains inefficient.”
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