Walmart Adds Early Morning Hours to Delivery Options

Walmart has extended its delivery window to include the earning morning hours.

The retail giant’s Express On-Demand Early Morning Delivery, announced on its website Thursday (March 7), lets customers get deliveries starting at 6 a.m.

“This expanded timing offers them peace of mind knowing they can get things they need at their doorstep to kickstart the day,” Walmart said in the announcement.

The retailer suggested a number of scenarios where the service could come in handy, from the office worker who spills coffee on their shirt to the parent who runs out of diapers. And starting in mid-March, Walmart will begin delivering live bait from more than 3,000 stores to people looking to hit the lake.

The announcement comes just weeks after Walmart’s most recently earnings call, in which CFO John D. Rainey noted that the company’s domestic, store-fulfilled delivery sales were up by nearly 50% in the most recent quarter, achieving a $2 billion monthly run rate.

“Delivery has been a key source of share gain among upper income households and is also the most productive channel for acquiring Walmart Plus members,” said the finance chief.

Walmart’s announcement comes days after Target announced it was updating its Target Circle program to look more like Amazon’s Prime or Walmart’s Walmart+ subscription service.

Target Circle will now include the new Target Circle 360 paid membership, offering free same-day delivery from the retailer’s on-demand delivery service Shipt as well as free two-day shipping from Target, among other benefits.

“We’ve prioritized building strong relationships with guests since Target’s inception, and our reimagining of Target Circle continues that commitment,” said Cara Sylvester, Target’s executive vice president and chief guest experience officer, adding that the goal is to “deliver more value and ease” while providing a shopping experience that feels more “personal” and “rewarding.”

The company’s latest earnings report showed that while Target’s comparable sales had fallen 4.4% year over year in the quarter, and digital sales overall dipped by 0.7%, same-day service — which includes in-store pickup, curbside and Shipt — rose 13.6%, fueled by strength in curbside (or Drive Up, as Target calls it).

“As such, it makes sense that the retailer would be turning its focus to ways to appeal to consumers’ growing demand for same-day options,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this week.

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