Jared Daniels
Staff Writer
Walmart is in the process of developing a new membership program for its customers that could rival Amazon Prime.
Walmart + is a new membership program for consumers that may rival Amazon’s membership service, Amazon Prime, according to news website Vox recode. Vox claimed this new service would take the place of Walmart’s delivery service which is only available in select stores. Their service would cost an annual $98 for its membership.
“I am confirming the creation of a membership program and its name, Walmart +. I can’t confirm the details of the program at this time,” said Molly Blakeman, a Walmart representative.
The new membership program offered by Walmart is speculated to include a text to order feature, a scanning feature and discounts to certain Walmart services and products, according to Vox. The scanning feature was briefly tested two years ago and would allow members to avoid waiting in checkout lanes to purchase products. The goal of the membership is to save Walmart consumers money and time, according to the Vox article.
Currently there is no information about student discounts for Walmart +. A feature Amazon has implemented for its Prime membership is a 50% discount for enrolled students and opportunities to earn scholarships from Amazon. Amazon also offers discounted memberships for members on government assistance, another feature Walmart has not disclosed to be part of Walmart +.
“Walmart + seems to have a number of similar elements to Amazon Prime, which students already use in their personal lives,” said Steven Russell, an assistant dean at the College of Business at the University of Wyoming.
As Walmart + enters a testing phase, the cost of the membership, discounts and features are all available to change. The arrival of Walmart + could be seen this month according to the Vox.
“The students who live on campus could definitely find a use for this,” said Jared Douglas, an electrical engineer major at UW. Douglas said this service seeks to meet the needs of people who need groceries delivered to them.
275 million customers visit Walmart each week, a company that makes a revenue of $514.4 billion annually, according to the 2019 report by Walmart.
Douglas said he would not become a member of Walmart + because he considered it too much work.
“If I need anything from the store, I’ll just get in my car and get it.”
Douglas could not think of an additional feature Walmart could add to the membership to convince him to become a member.
Purchasing items from Amazon six or more times every month dropped 40% since its 80% rate in 2017, according to a survey conducted by First Insight in 2018. Membership to Prime decreased and 55% of consumers would rather shop at Walmart than Amazon, stated in the survey taken by First Insight. Yet half of Walmarts top customers have an Amazon prime membership, according to the Vox.
Both companies, Amazon and Walmart, have been branching different programs in an effort to compete with one another. Amazon released Amazon Prime and Amazon Go, while Walmart has released a pick up plan, online services, delivery and soon a new membership program.
