Walmart challenges Amazon in online food delivery service

Having dominated American offline retail market, Walmart has revealed its plan to mount a challenge to the world's largest online retailer, Amazon.

According to Bloomberg News, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said at the annual general meeting of shareholders on Friday, “We will begin testing the delivery of groceries using Uber and Lyft drivers.” The decision came at a time when its grocery sales have been badly affected by online food delivery serviced by Amazon or Google. In particular, “AmazonFresh” that was introduced in December 2014 is recognized to have been rapidly transforming offline food retail market into online-based system.

“The test will debut in Denver, Colo., and Phoenix, Az., over the next two weeks, and follows what the company called a "very quiet" pilot between Sam's Club and Deliv in Miami, Fla., in March,” said Michael Bender, Walmart Global eCommerce Executive Vice President. When any customer places an Internet order, drivers of Uber or Lyft will deliver the food to the house. The delivery would cost some 7-10 U.S. dollars and there’s no additional charges to the drives. At the previous system on Walmart, customers had to pick their orders at the store even after they placed an order on the Internet.

Walmart has been cautious in expanding its business into online service as agricultural products cost a lot of delivery fee due to difficulties in quality management. The retailer, however, has decided to counterattack Amazon as it gets its delivery service of fresh product in full-swing in big cities such as New York, said Los Angeles Times.

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