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Battle of the retail giants: 5 ways Walmart is competing with Amazon

Aug 26, 2022

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Amazon is the undisputed champion of e-commerce but the king of brick-and-mortar sales is taking huge steps to challenge that dominance. We have the ways Walmart is competing to replace Amazon in this week’s Five for Friday.

#5: Exclusive memberships

Nothing sets the e-commerce giant apart from the competition more than Amazon Prime. Walmart is no stranger to the subscription game, having owned Sam’s Club since 1983, but it made a broader leap with the launch of Walmart+ back in 2020. Similar to Prime, Plus members get free next-day or two-day shipping. Walmart’s offering also gives discounts on gas, which is a pretty big selling point right now. Walmart also has the edge on pricing: It’s just $98 for a year of Plus, while Prime will set you back $139 per year.

#4: Streaming services

Another benefit of Amazon’s member service is Prime Video. This month, Walmart also launched its foray into streaming by entering a deal with Paramount+ to offer free streaming for its members. Walmart reportedly courted a number of streaming services to bundle with Plus but landed with the home of the Halo TV series and a number of Star Trek shows. It has a long way to go to catch up with the massive Prime Video library, which now includes exclusive rights to the NFL’s Thursday Night Football for the next 11 seasons, featuring play-by-play from the legendary Al Michaels.

#3: Grocery wars

Over the last decade, the world of e-groceries has become incredibly competitive. Two major players are Amazon and Walmart. Walmart’s delivery is free for Plus members, and while Amazon stopped offering free delivery for Whole Foods orders last year, Amazon Fresh orders are still on the house for Prime customers. Volume is the name of the game for Walmart, having moved 7.8 billion units to Amazon’s 4 billion since 2020. But Amazon is still the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to revenue with $40.6 billion to Walmart’s $22.5 billion.

#2: Robot race

Both companies are on the cutting edge of retail technology. Walmart’s Alphabot can pack and deliver groceries quicker than humans. Amazon, for its part, has a major head start on warehouse robots, but Walmart hopes to close that gap with its growing stake in Symbotic. Don’t forget Amazon’s fleet of drones it’s been working on to have items delivered to your backyard without fighting grueling traffic.

#1: Ecommerce domination

All of these strides come to a head with Walmart’s pandemic-induced shift into ecommerce. Right now, Amazon accounts for 40% of all U.S. ecommerce sales, but Walmart’s share is growing, with sales surging 12% on the year. Over the same period, Amazon sales fell 4%. Both have their own way of handling the volume, Amazon with its massive fulfillment centers and Walmart with thousands of stores at its disposal. Walmart+ members can get same-day delivery from their local store, which turns the stores into distribution centers of their own.

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO:

AMAZON IS THE KING OF E-COMMERCE. BUT THE KING OF BRICK AND MORTAR – WALMART – IS TRYING TO TAKE ON AMAZON’S TURF. WE’VE GOT THE WAYS WALMART IS COMPETING TO REPLACE AMAZON IN THIS WEEK’S FIVE FOR FRIDAY.

AMAZON IS SYNONYMOUS WITH PRIME, SO ENTER WALMART PLUS. JUST LIKE PRIME, WALMART PLUS GIVES YOU FREE NEXT DAY OR TWO DAY SHIPPING, I WONDER WHERE THEY GOT THAT IDEA. BUT WALMART ONE UPS WITH DISCOUNTS ON GAS. THEY’RE ALSO EDGING OUT AMAZON IN PRICE TOO, IT’S JUST 98 BUCKS A YEAR FOR PLUS, WHILE PRIME IS GONNA SET YOU BACK 139.

HERE’S ANOTHER PAGE FROM AMAZON PRIME’S BOOK. THIS MONTH WALMART REACHED A DEAL WITH PARAMOUNT PLUS TO OFFER FREE STREAMING FOR ITS PLUS MEMBERS. IT’S A START, BUT THEY’VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO TO REACH THE LEVELS OF THE AMAZON PRIME VIDEO LIBRARY WHICH INCLUDES EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FOR THE NEXT 11 SEASONS.

FORGET GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE TO GET THOSE GAME SNACKS. E-GROCERY IS STIFF WITH COMPETITION FROM WALMART AND AMAZON. WALMART’S DELIVERY IS FREE FOR PLUS MEMBERS, WHILE AMAZON ENDED FREE DELIVERY FOR WHOLE FOODS ORDERS LAST YEAR. AMAZON FRESH ORDERS ARE STILL GRATIS. WALMART IS DOMINATING ON ONLINE UNITS SOLD SINCE 2020 BUT AMAZON HAS THEM DOUBLY BEAT IN REVENUE .

ENTER THE ROBOT RACE. BETWEEN AMAZON PLANNING TO DROP PACKAGES ON YOUR HEAD WITH A FLEET OF DELIVERY DRONES, TO WALMART HAVING LOGISTICS ROBOTS ON LOCK… BOTH COMPANIES ARE ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF RETAIL TECHNOLOGY. WALMART’S ALPHABOT CAN PACK AND DELIVER GROCERIES BETTER THAN HUMANS. AND WHILE AMAZON HAS A HEAD START ON WAREHOUSE ROBOTS, WALMART HOPES TO CLOSE THE GAP WITH ITS GROWING STAKE IN SYMBOTIC.

ALL OF THESE STRIDES COME TO A HEAD WITH WALMART’S PANDEMIC-INDUCED SHIFT INTO E-COMMERCE. RIGHT NOW AMAZON ACCOUNTS FOR 40% OF U-S SALES IN THE SPACE, BUT WALMART’S CHUNK IS GROWING, WITH SALES UP 12% ON THE YEAR. AT THE SAME TIME, AMAZON’S SALES WERE DOWN 4%. BOTH TAKE UNIQUE APPROACHES TO FILLING THE SPACE, AMAZON WITH ITS MASSIVE FULFILLMENT CENTERS, AND WALMART WITH THOUSANDS OF STORES AT ITS DISPOSAL.

THEY MIGHT BE STEPPING ON EACH OTHER’S TOES IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF COMPETITION. LET ME KNOW WHO HAS YOUR BUSINESS. THAT’S YOUR FIVE FOR FRIDAY, I’M SIMONE DEL ROSARIO AND IT IS JUST BUSINESS.