Walmart’s newest pilot is a last-mile delivery test through services like Uber, Lyft and Deliv. The company will start with tests of grocery delivery through Uber in Phoenix and Lyft in Denver. This is in addition to a Sam’s Club pilot that started in March with Deliv involving delivery of general merchandise and grocery for business members in Miami.
They pay us our normal $7-10 delivery charge online, and make no payment to the driver.
Michael Bender, EVP and chief operating officer of Walmart Global eCommerce, explains how it works: “A customer in one of the test locations places their grocery order online and selects a delivery window. Our personal shoppers, highly-trained Walmart associates, will carefully select and prepare their order. Then, our team may request a driver from one of these services to come to the store, pick up the customer’s order, and take it directly to the customer’s location. It’s all seamless to the customer. They pay us our normal $7-10 delivery charge online, and make no payment to the driver. We’ll also let them know their order is being delivered by a driver from Uber or Lyft.”
Walmart is also looking at drones to speed distribution according to a report on New York Times. The company has applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to begin testing.
