Walmart Adds Subway Restaurant Delivery to Capture Meal Budgets

Walmart is offering delivery of freshly made meals from its largest in-store restaurant tenant, Subway.

This is the retailer’s first restaurant integration within Express Delivery, it said in a Thursday (June 4) press release.

Customers in select areas can order Subway through the Walmart app or Walmart.com, customize the meal down to individual toppings, add it to their cart alone or with items from Walmart, and have it delivered with Express Delivery in 30 minutes or less, according to the release.

The price of the meals will be consistent with that in the restaurants, and Express Delivery comes with a flat fee and no hidden costs, the release said.

Walmart launched the service in select stores across Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas, and will expand it to 1,400 locations by the end of summer, according to the release. The retailer also plans to extend the service to other in-store restaurants.

“The future of retail is about bringing more of customers’ everyday needs into a single, seamless experience,” Tracy Poulliot, executive vice president, eCommerce and marketing at Walmart U.S., said in the release. “Bringing Subway delivery into the Walmart app is another way we’re using our proximity to customers and scale to make everyday decisions simpler and everyday life a little easier.”

Damien Harmon, president of Subway North America, said in the release: “The integration of Subway delivery into the Walmart app and Walmart.com is a natural evolution of our 20-year relationship built on a shared commitment to value, freshness and everyday convenience.”

Walmart customers’ demand for speed and convenience drove a 26% increase in eCommerce sales and a 45% increase in delivery volume within Walmart U.S. in the most recent quarter, PYMNTS reported in May.

During an earnings call, Walmart executives repeatedly returned to the idea that faster fulfillment increases shopping frequency and broadens the range of purchases customers make with the retailer.

Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said Walmart can now reach approximately 60% of U.S. households in 30 minutes or less. He linked those capabilities to stronger engagement and higher participation in membership programs, which continue to become a larger part of the business.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Global Digital Shopping Index: The AI-Powered Shopper Has Arrived” found that across the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil, 28% of consumers said in March that their most recent purchase was made online.