Walmart has stepped up its shipping options to compete with online rival Amazon. The world’s largest retailer scrapped its “Shipping Pass” membership service launched last year and is offering free, two-day shipping on orders totaling $35 and above.
The move mimics policies at Jet.com, which Walmart bought for $3.3 billion last August; Jet already offers free two-to-five-day shipping on orders of $35 and up.
Walmart’s US e-commerce president and chief executive Marc Lore said in a blog post that “it no longer makes sense to charge” for two-day shipping. Lore was charged with battling Amazon following the Jet acquisition. Earlier this month, Jet announced its acquisition of ShoeBuy.com to compete with Amazon’s subsidiary shoe company Zappos.
Last year, Amazon raised the minimum amount people have to buy to get free four-to-five-day shipping to $49 from $35 for those who are not Amazon Prime members. Prime members pay $99 for a yearly membership, which gives them unlimited, free two-day shipping as well as free video and music streaming.
Walmart struggled to attract online shoppers last year, tinkering with online order pick-up spots in stores to make the process more seamless. While Amazon can ship items to Amazon Lockers in at least 30 cities in the US at no extra cost, Walmart offers free, same-day store pickup at over 4,600 stores nationwide, with plans for expansion.