There’s been talk for quite some time, that Walmart wanted to introduce a competitor to Amazon Prime, and now it’s finally here. It’ll be called Walmart+ and will give you same-day delivery, among other things, it’ll launch on September 15.
With Walmart+, customers will be paying a yearly fee of $98, or they can opt to pay monthly at $12.95 (which makes it significantly more expensive at $155.40). Customers will get unlimited free same-day deliveries, cashier-less checkouts and fuel discounts. It will also be replacing the Delivery Unlimited plan it previously offered, and those on that plan will automatically become Walmart+ customers.
What are “cashier-less checkouts”?
With the terminology that Walmart is using here, cashier-less checkouts sound like the self-scan that many of us likely use at Walmart already. But it’s more than that.
With Walmart+, there is going to be a new “Scan & Go” option in the Walmart app. So you can scan products as you put them in your basket. And then use Walmart Pay to finish your checkout. Without ever needing to wait in line.
Walmart offered something similar with the Scan & Go app, but it killed that due to very few customers using it. Though the pandemic might change that. Since you won’t need to interact with anyone.
As for the fuel discounts, you’ll get up to five cents off per gallon at about 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express gas stations. Walmart does say that Sam’s Club locations will be added in the future.
Is Walmart+ worth $98 per year?
For most people, probably not. At $98 per year, that’s a little more than $8 per month. Which is not cheap, and close to the same price as something like Instacart, which offers delivery from a lot more stores.
The perks that Walmart+ currently has really doesn’t justify this price. Sure the Scan & Go is going to be nice, but is it worth paying to use? Not really. Considering you can do that at Sam’s Club already – though you do need a membership to shop there.
Then there’s the gas stations. 2,000 locations in all of America? That’s not that many. It’ll be more useful when Sam’s Club joins in. But then again you’ll likely still need a Sam’s Club membership to fill up there with Walmart+.
Comparing it to Amazon Prime really shows where Walmart+ is lacking at launch, even though it is cheaper. But according to Walmart’s Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside, Walmart is “not launching Walmart+ with the intent to compete with anything else. We’re launching it to meet the needs of our customers, and it really was designed to make their busy lives easier. We think that it offers a comprehensive suite of in-store and online benefits that help people save time and money across a variety of areas.”