In a sign of the intensifying battle for New York’s online shoppers, Walmart Stores acquired Parcel, a company specialising in same-day deliveries of groceries and meal kits.
The world’s largest retailer plans to use the business to offer free, same-day delivery in New York City - the most populous city in the US - as it continues to push into e-commerce to compete with Amazon.
Walmart announced the purchase on its website, saying it paid less for Parcel than other acquisitions made this year, without giving more details on the terms.
E-Commerce Push
Walmart has sought to leverage its way into e-commerce through a string of acquisitions. It agreed to pay $310 million in cash for online apparel seller Bonobos earlier this year. In 2016, it purchased Jet.com for about $3.3 billion, with the website’s founder Marc Lore going on to become head of e-commerce for Walmart.
“New York City is the top market for both Jet and Walmart.com, and because of the density of the area - along with the proximity of our fulfilment centres - it’s the perfect place for high-impact innovation,” Nate Faust, senior vice president for the retailer’s e-commerce supply chain, said in a post on the company blog. “This acquisition allows us to continue testing ways to offer fast delivery while lowering our operating costs.”
Outside of New York, Walmart and Jet have offered free two-day shipping for orders of $35 or more, an attempt to blunt the popularity of Amazon’s two-day guarantee for members of its Prime program.
Target offers same-day delivery for in-store purchases to parts of New York City for a fee and will broaden that offering to more cities next year. Earlier this month, electronics retailer Best Buy Co. expanded its same-day delivery from 13 to 27 cities.
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