DISCUSSION
Do new Shipt and Walmart programs signal big changes to come in the retail delivery market?
Written by George Anderson
Target-owned Shipt and Walmart each introduced new programs this week that may substantially affect the U.S. delivery market.
Shipt has always played up the ability it gives its shoppers who pick orders to communicate in real time with customers. The company is looking to build on that edge with the launch of its Preferred Shopper program. This enables Shipt subscribers to create a list of shoppers that they prefer to pick and deliver future orders.
Customers who give shoppers a five-star rating for an order may add them to their Preferred list. If the shopper accepts the request, they will be given priority status when it comes to filling future orders for those customers.
“The more often a shopper shops for a customer, the more they learn about that customer’s wants and needs and are able to deliver a tailored shopping experience,” said Karl Varsanyi, chief experience & product officer at Shipt, in a statement. “Preferred Shoppers helps customers get the exceptional service they enjoy again and again.”
Shipt said it developed the new perk for members at the request of customers and shoppers. The delivery service tested the program and found it delivered higher satisfaction scores for both its members and shoppers.
The company said that the regular pairing of shoppers with customers resulted in the placement of more orders and fewer issues with those that were delivered. Shipt said that roughly 95 percent of those in test markets made use of the Preferred Shopper option as soon as it was offered.
[embed]https://retailwire.wistia.com/medias/3i47xda8wn[/embed]
Walmart announced yesterday the launch of GoLocal, a new service that delivers orders for other businesses across the U.S. The white label service uses third-party drivers to handle orders. Walmart has promised competitive pricing and said it has already signed deals with national clients as well as smaller businesses.
“We’ve worked hard to develop a reliable last mile delivery program for our customers,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile, Walmart U.S. “Now, we’re pleased to be able to use these capabilities to serve another set of customers, local merchants. Be it delivering goods from a local bakery to auto supplies from a national retailer, we’ve designed Walmart GoLocal to be customizable for merchants of all sizes and categories so they can focus on doing what they do best, leaving delivery speed and efficiency to us.”
Discussion Thread0
The RetailWire Daily
One morning briefing: the retail news, expert perspective, and business context to bring into your next meeting.
Want to know more? Learn more