Walmart Tests $10 Upcharge For 2-Hour Grocery Delivery

Walmart’s new Express Delivery service will transport items to customers’ doors within two hours for a $10 charge, the company announced Thursday (April 30).

The program will allow Walmart shoppers to peruse the company’s catalog of 160,000 items, including food, toys, essentials and electronics, the release stated.

The coronavirus pandemic has necessitated the fast-tracking of the service, which has been piloted in 100 stores through April. In early May, Walmart will introduce the program in 1,000 stores, and then in the following weeks, the program will be available in 2,000 stores, according to the release.

The Express Delivery function follows in the footsteps of other Walmart services for pickup and delivery, all no-contact in keeping with social distancing guidelines. Walmart will use its 74,000 personal shoppers who pick up customers’ orders, including new employees hired specifically for this new service.

The company plans to use its own lineup of delivery providers to take the orders to customers. The service will cost $10 in addition to the existing delivery charge.

The company claims there is “no markup on items,” as items are priced the same as they are inside the stores, just like with the company’s other delivery programs. Express delivery also expands on Walmart’s existing inventory of pickup and delivery slots, which Walmart said will give customers a wider avenue of opportunities to shop however fits their preferences, according to the release.

To use the Express Delivery program, customers can visit the Walmart app to see if it’s available for them. If it is, they will be able to search for the items they want, select “Express Delivery” at the checkout page, and the items will then be delivered in a two-hour time frame, the release stated.

Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer, said in the release that the company expects the service to be popular during the pandemic as well as afterward as consumers return to their busy outside-the-home lives.