Walmart Gives Moms Walmart+ for Free as Consumers Cut Back

Walmart is offering new moms a Mother’s Day gift: free Walmart+ subscriptions.

The retail giant is giving away up to 20,000 one-year memberships to the program to moms who give birth in hospitals during the month of May, according to a press release.

The giveaway, conducted in partnership with the Pampers Hospital Gift Program, comes at a time when many consumers are forgoing retail subscriptions.

“Walmart knows that new moms have lots of love, but little time,” the company said in the release. “This campaign showcases how Walmart+ is the ultimate mom hack, saving families time, money and so much more in their daily lives, all without sacrifice.”

Walmart introduced Walmart+ in 2020 to compete with Amazon Prime. As of last summer, Walmart+ had an estimated 51 million subscribers in the United States compared to Amazon Prime’s 171 million, according to PYMNTS’ “Walmart+ Weekend” report.

Over the past year, Walmart has taken several steps to entice consumers to sign up for the program, including early shopping deals for Black Friday, a partnership with streaming service Paramount+, free delivery for online orders, and discounts at participating gas stations.

There’s also a long-standing partnership with American Express that PYMNTS described last month as a “shot across” Amazon’s bow.

More recently, the company gave Walmart+ members exclusive early access to a new limited-edition Oreo variety, the Blackout Cake cookie.

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this month, “by offering exclusive benefits to its members, Walmart is creating a sense of value and loyalty that can encourage customers to shop more frequently and spend more money.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS research found large swaths of consumers are cutting back on retail subscriptions, a trend that’s been happening for some time and is likely to continue. Around 17% of retail subscribers said they are either likely to cancel their subscriptions or on the fence about canceling as soon as the current pay period concludes.

As PYMNTS noted, that’s “a strong indicator that consumers are watching their wallets. In February 2023, retail subscribers held 2.9 retail subscriptions on average, unchanged from September 2022 but far fewer than the 4.1 they held in March 2022.”

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