Walmart same-day delivery ‘Walmart To Go’ is now being trialled in China to speed up the efficiency of customers obtaining their goods.
The new service, which developed in partnership with WeChat, is designed to allow Chinese shoppers to have their product delivered to their doorsteps in as quick as one hour of their purchase. Some 8,000 items are selected for the new delivery service, ranging from product categories including fresh food, home items, and personal care as well as the marketplace’s own brand ‘Great Value.’
While Walmart haven’t yet officially announced the trial of the new feature, Chinese customers can now select their local store that offers an accelerated delivery option, which is displayed on the marketplace’s website.
The new initiative also serves as a way for Walmart to understand its customers better as it will be collecting their feedback along the trialling period. In addition, it will see the use customers data to create personalised experiences through product recommendation and coupons tailored to each shopper along offering fast product shipment.
Earlier this year, Walmart have been collaborating with We Chat to introduce innovative initiatives as part of the marketplace’s offering. So far, the partnership saw a launch of Amazon-like scan-and-go technology that allows shoppers to scan a product via WeChat on their mobile phone and leave the store as the payment gets automatically deducted from their digital basket.
These news come as Walmart reported a 43% increase in online sales as a result of their international expansion. The marketplace says that its Chinese market saw a 2.2% of sales growth driven by fresh food consumption. Their scan and go app has now recorded more than 10m users. This suggests that Chinese consumers have warmed up to the marketplace and now that they are innovating new services to fit within the shopper’s lifestyles, will we see Walmart become a marketplace of choice for the Chinese market?