BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will be testing its grocery delivery service with ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft in the next two weeks in Denver and Phoenix.
That’s in addition to a quiet pilot program that started in March with Deliv for its Sam’s Club customers that involves delivery of general merchandise and grocery for business members in Miami.
The move is the latest step in the retailer’s efforts to better compete with Amazon, which is delivering groceries directly to shoppers’ homes in several markets.
Wal-Mart’s test works this way: A customer in one of the test locations orders groceries online and then selects a delivery window. A personal shopper then selects the products and the team may request a driver from one of these services to go to the store, pick up the customer’s order and take it directly to the customer’s location.
Customers pay Wal-Mart the regular $7 to $10 delivery charge online and make no payments to the driver.