Walmart challenges Amazon in same-day delivery using shops as warehouses

Walmart is experimenting with the possibility of storing third-party goods in Supercenter warehouses to enhance its online marketplace.

It was the system that Tesco used in the early days of e-commerce and that we used with Esselunga at home, only we only did it with food whereas they do it with the marketplace, with non-food.

In fact, ‘the online sales platform of the largest US retailer offers around half a billion items from third-party sellers. The sellers retain ownership of the items until they are sold and pay Walmart sales commissions and shipping costs.

Third-party sellers typically store their items at their own locations or in Walmart-owned warehouses.

Most deliveries from Walmart warehouses take one or two days, while direct shipments from sellers can be slower. According to sources close to the initiative, Walmart is currently testing the use of shelves in shop warehouses as sorting areas for the delivery of third-party merchandise, with the goal of delivering it to customers within the same day’.