Walmart Expands eCommerce Grocery Delivery Partners

Walmart has announced it is adding four delivery companies to its team to help expand its online grocery delivery option.

Delivery companies Point Pickup, Skipcart, AxleHire and Roadie will make deliveries in metro areas across four states, with further expansion planned in the coming weeks.

“Customers love our Grocery Delivery service. As they are busy managing jobs, soccer practice, dance lessons and social schedules we are on a mission to do more than keep a little extra money in their pockets,” Tom Ward, senior vice president of Digital Operations, Walmart U.S., said in a press release. “With the help of these new delivery partners, we’re making grocery shopping even easier by bringing the everyday low prices of Walmart right to the front door of customers.”

The service is currently available in more than 800 stores, with another 800 launching this year. With the help of Walmart’s personal shoppers, which  must complete a three-week training program to learn how to select the freshest produce and the best cuts of meat, thousands of customers can have groceries delivered to their doors as soon as the same day. There is a $30 minimum order.

Earlier this month, Walmart announced it was teaming up with California autonomous car startup company Udelv, who will offer its self-driving vans for deliveries. The pilot program, which will start next month at stores in Surprise, Arizona, will initially have human drivers as backups “until both companies and regulators deem them approved for a safe removal of the safety driver.”

“America’s leading retailers know to stay competitive and continue to provide outstanding customer shopping experiences, and they need to stay ahead of the curve and lead the market with the adoption of new technology,” said Udelv CEO Daniel Laury. “Walmart is a forward-thinking business that consistently invests in providing value to its customers, and our trial builds on this commitment.”