A Walmart Plus launch date in August seems likely, as America's largest retailer is teasing a 'coming soon' landing page for its new money-saving subscription service.
What is Walmart Plus – which is being stylized as Walmart+ – and how closely will it compare to Amazon Prime? We're here to explain the annual subscription service.
The Walmart Plus price may be a bargain: $98 a year, according to reports, although the same news stories pegged July as the launch month. That... didn't happen.
Whenever it does arrive, Walmart is poised to have the first truly competitive service to Amazon. Here's what we know about Walmart Plus so far.
Walmart Plus launch date
There's good reason to think that the Walmart Plus launch date is in August. The first report about the service came from Recode detailing a July launch window.
It's now August and the Walmart Plus teaser page suggests it's 'coming soon' without any other details. So clearly those early reports of a July date were either wrong, or Walmart decided to delay the launch date. The latter is more likely.
Like we've seen with Amazon Prime Day 2020 shifting in October, it may not be the right time to roll out a glitzy new service while the US deals with Coiv-19 and supply chain for essential goods remains strained and recovering.
Walmart Plus price
The Walmart Plus price is $98 annually, according to Recode. That's less than Prime, which costs $119 annually – savings of $21 every year. Walmart Plus benefits have pros and cons, according to the early details. Let's review them.
Here's what's similar: Walmart Plus is said to include same-day deliveries and access to early product deals. So far, deliveries and online deals may not be very different between the two services.
However, Walmart Plus is expected to have more in-store perks due to owning close to 5,000 stores across the US. This includes discounts on gas and being able to go into a members-only Scan & Go checkout line. It may save you time and money.
If true, the Walmart Plus loyalty program would undercut the 15-year-old Amazon Prime subscription and come with brand new benefits, only forgoing Prime Video, Prime Music and Prime Kindle equivalents, as far as we can tell.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has made grocery deliveries from Amazon Prime Fresh and Walmart Groceries invaluable to families across the US, and having same-day delivery attached to Walmart's service may be the biggest perk of Walmart Plus.
Walmart Plus vs Amazon Prime
The Walmart Plus vs Amazon Prime comparison is 15 years in the making, as we've been waiting to see someone challenge the Jeff Bezos-owned company. Walmart is the only chain big enough to take on Amazon, it seems. Others, including Google have tried and failed over the years.
Amazon Prime launched in 2005 and has grown to 150 million members globally in those 15 years. On the back of that, the online retailer has been able to generate a valuation of $1.5 trillion, according to Recode. Walmart sits at just $337 billion.
Yet Walmart remains the bigger overall revenue driver and largest US employer with an unmatched brick-and-mortar retail operation. Walmart Plus would mark a major shift in its lagging online and delivery strategy.
There are many questions that remain: will Walmart Plus be able to serve everyone nationwide? Walmart is notoriously not in New York City, but Amazon-owned Whole Foods is, so we're eager to here about those same-day delivery routes across the US.
Also, Walmart sold off its video streaming service Vudu to Fandango in early 2020, meaning Walmart Plus may launch without going toe-to-toe with Amazon's Prime Video service, which is conveniently rolled into the Prime subscription package. In terms of added perks, both services don't have exactly equal features.
We'll update this page when the Walmart Plus launch date is announced. For now, though, Prime has a 'run of the store', if you will, with its unmatched subscription.
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