Walmart Strikes Back At Amazon In One-Day Shipping Battle

Retail giant Walmart Inc WMT responded to Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN's one-day shipping announcement with an offer of its own— a similar one-day shipping offer without an annual membership fee.

What Happened

Amazon last week said it will invest $800 million to offer paying Prime members one-day shipping. Shares of rival retailers fell Friday as Street analysts said Amazon's shipping initiative could be a "game changer" in the retail sector.

Walmart's response is short on detail as the retail giant teased its response in a tweet.

Why It's Important

Walmart shouldn't experience any difficulties in matching Amazon's one-day shipping, Bloomberg quoted Sanford Bernstein Brandon Fletcher as saying in a research report. The analyst said one-day shipping is "neither shocking nor difficult" for Walmart given its large scale.

Fletcher has first-hand experience having worked in Walmart's strategy and operations department, Bloomberg said. Walmart boasts 156 distribution centers and upgrading its facilities to allow one-day shipping shouldn't require heavy investment

What's Next

Fletcher's report also highlighted a previous research report by consultants at A.T. Kearney, which said Walmart would need to add eight additional distribution facilities to offer one-day shipping to clients.

Walmart's stock closed Friday's session at $101.53 per share. Amazon closed at $1,950.63 per share.

Related Links:

Walmart Earnings Give Amazon A Run For Its Money

Winning India: Walmart Vs. Amazon

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: NewsRetail SalesMediaAmazon PrimeBloombergBrandon FletcherdeliveryOne-Day Delivery
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!