Walmart: Reaching for the Top Grocery Delivery Spot
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) plans to greatly expand its home delivery service, with the reach of its InHome program expected to grow by five-fold from 6 million U.S. households to 30 million by the end of this year, the company said in a recent press release. This move is the latest in the company's bid to overtake e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) as the leader in the U.S. grocery delivery space.
To support the expansion, Walmart - already the world's largest private-sector employer - plans to hire more than 3,000 associate delivery drivers this year as well as build out a fleet of 100% all-electric delivery vans, the company reported. The massive Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer also announced an agreement to reserve 5,000 electric vans from BrightDrop to be used for the InHome delivery fleet.
Investors couldnt help but be pleased by the plans, though Walmarts stock was trading at $143.97 just before midday today, down 0.63%. According to CNN, 31 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Walmart have a median target of $170.00, with a high estimate of $201.00 and a low estimate of $136.20. The median estimate represents a 17.34% increase from Friday's closing price of $144.88.
Weve been operating InHome in select markets over the last two years and have found it is a perfect solution for customers who want to live their lives without worrying about making it to the store or being home to accept a delivery, said Tom Ward, senior vice president, last mile at Walmart U.S. Identifying ways to help our customers save time and money is our purpose, and nothing showcases that better than InHome delivery, which is why were excited to bring the convenience of InHome to even more customers in 2022.
Launched in 2019, Walmarts InHome delivery service is designed to give time back to families by using highly-trained associates to deliver fresh groceries, everyday essentials and more directly into customers homes, including placing items straight into their kitchen or garage refrigerator, as well as picking up Walmart.com returns, the release noted. Heres how the company described the process:
Order: Once signed up for InHome, a customer places their order on the Walmart App and selects InHome as their preferred delivery option.
Deliver: A highly-trained InHome associate completes the delivery. Upon arriving at the customers home, the associate uses a one-time access code to unlock the customers door or garage through their InHome app, which pairs with smart entry technology. The app notifies the customer at every step and a camera, worn on the associates vest, records the entire delivery, which customers have access to from their phones for up to a week after each delivery.
Enjoy: The customer can rest easy knowing associates took the appropriate safety measures, including wearing a mask, sanitizing surfaces and locking up, leaving the perfect finishing touches.
Walmarts InHome Delivery service is $19.95 per month or $148 per year, with no additional fees, including tips, which are built into the membership price. Customers can extend one-time access to their InHome associate using an existing smart lock, a garage keypad, or by purchasing a new smart lock from InHome for $49.95.
To support the rapidly growing service, this year Walmart plans to hire more than 3,000 InHome associate delivery drivers and equip them with a fleet of 100% all-electric delivery vans. Not only does the implementation of EVs support the retailers goal of operating a zero-emissions logistics fleet by 2040, but it is also supported by Walmarts growing infrastructure of 1,396 EV charging stations at stores and clubs across 41 states.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
