Walmart+ 'Looks Very Different' Than Amazon Prime, Experts Say

Retail giant Walmart Inc WMT announced Walmart+ on Monday, a new subscription program that some experts are saying is not designed to be a direct competitor to Amazon.com, Inc.'s AMZN Prime.

Walmart Says It's Not Targeting Amazon: Walmart's new service isn't mean to compete with any specific rival, Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside told CNBC's retail reporter Melissa Repko. This isn't stopping the investment community from comparing and contrasting the two.

Walmart's much-anticipated service "looks very different" than Amazon Prime, especially in its main perks, Repko said. Walmart's three key selling points are free grocery delivery, discounts on fuel purchases and a unique app that lets customers scan their own items to skip a checkout line.

Ex-Walmart CEO On Bentonville's Strategy: Walmart is likely interested in leveraging sales from the "robust" business to generate incremental general merchandise sales, former Walmart CEO Bill Simon said on CNBC's "Closing Bell."

Walmart has historically struggled to generate a profit in its e-commerce business, he said. 

"Leveraging that food business to try and sell gross merchandise is really where they are trying to go," Simon said. "It's a competitor to Amazon because everything is, but I don't think it's a direct competitive move."

How TikTok Fits In: Walmart's new service could mark the very early stages of a transformation to become more like Amazon Prime in terms of a content offering, Fast Company editor-in-chief Stephanie Mehta said on CNBC's "Squawk Alley."

Walmart's interest in controlling TikTok would be an "important part" of the equation, she said. 

Unlike Amazon, Walmart isn't interested in leveraging content as a loss leader to help it "sell more rolls of toilet paper," the journalist said.

Walmart will be looking at how to "use content as a commerce play," Mehta said. 

WMT Price Action: Walmart shares were down 0.56% at $146.77 at last check Wednesday. 

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Photo courtesy of Walmart.