Does Walmart+ Give Walmart a Prime-Like Business?
Walmart’s Doug MacMillion is in "post-Marc Lore" mode already, with more details released about their Prime-like subscription service, Walmart+.
Ooh boy.
A few points:
Who remembers Marc Lore's Recode talk where he introduced fresh and frozen subscriptions? Yawn. Not even mentioned here.
If you're the top retailer in the world, how do you give an upstart competitor a 15-year head start on a consistent loyalty program? 15 years!
Vox reports that only half of Walmart’s top spenders are Prime members. That is fewer than I would have thought, and indicates demographic differences between the brands.
Most Walmart customers would be silly not to sign up. So, yeah, Walmart faces a few headwinds. I wouldn’t watch TV at Walmart, but I do at Amazon. I would buy gas there, though. That alone could be worth it for some people.
Do you think Walmart is threatened by Amazon's grocery ambitions? Would the average Walmart consumer consider Amazon?
Gregg London weighed in, saying “business ‘moves’ made by Walmart, as we have seen over the past several years, are not reflective of thought and planning, but rather, to either compete with Amazon or stave off others. The Pandemic has exposed serious flaws in Walmart's supply chain…Meanwhile Amazon continues ‘rolling on.’ Of late, there has been considerable discussion about Amazon Grocery - be it ‘new’ conventional stores in California and Illinois, Go stores in D.C. and more, and enhances to Amazon Fresh...So yes, I believe Walmart is ‘concerned’ about Amazon. As for the ‘average Walmart consumer,’ that's an interesting subject. Amazon does not have the ‘footprint’ of Walmart, so I don't believe the typical Walmart customer is going to ‘jump ship’ for Amazon. And, as Amazon is a massive ‘marketplace,’ not exactly ‘known’ for grocery, I think their customers will continue shopping for food elsewhere.”
Will be interesting to see how this service rolls out.
