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Walmart is on a mission to become the top e-commerce site in the U.S. — and its CFO believes it has the tools to topple Amazon.
Speaking at the Evercore ISI Consumer & Retail Conference, Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey said last week that the company has seen delivery orders surpass pickup orders for the first time in the past few months.
“This was something that there was a fair bit of excitement around,” Rainey said. “I believe that that’s a trend that’s not going to reverse.”
The CFO of the Arkansas-based retail giant said the increase in delivery orders “really speaks to how customers are thinking about this convenience factor for us.” It also strikes at the core of Amazon’s business.
“We’re simply getting better at our ability to serve our customers that way,” he added.
Rainey said this shift is helped by Walmart+, the company’s Amazon Prime-type service that offers free delivery for a subscription fee, among other benefits.
Walmart+ customers “spend about twice as much as an average customer,” Rainey said, adding that subscribers “tend to shop more frequently and also have smaller baskets.”
Walmart surpassed expectations in its Q1 revenue, which exceeded $160 billion, partly because its e-commerce sales jumped more than 20%.
“They’re using us for those one or two items,” he said. “Also, sometimes [items] that maybe they historically would have thought about using another retailer before.”
But the space is only becoming more competitive. Target launched its paid membership program, Target Circle 360, in April, where customers will have access to same-day delivery through its Shipt service and other partners.