It’s the battle of the retail titans, as Walmart rolls out its own version of Amazon’s hugely popular Prime Day.
The second annual Walmart+ Week offers special deals and additional benefits to customers with a $98 annual premium membership.
It’s reminiscent of its rival’s Prime Day, which has become a highly anticipated two-day event launched in 2015 to get Americans to spend money on everything from gadgets to household items during the summer months.
Through Sunday, Walmart+ members get cheaper gas, more cash back on travel and free expedited store delivery, without the usual $10 fee.
The deals include an HP 15.6-inch laptop (was $1,000, now $400), an iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner (was $350, now $229), and three pairs of Cate & Chloe white gold earrings (was $249, now $ 50).
Launched in 2020, Walmart+ has become Amazon Prime’s main competitor, and Walmart+ Week is the company’s answer to Amazon Prime Day, which has been around since 2015.
And if you’ve been looking for a particular plan for a while, here are some of the free trials you can get if you sign up for Walmart+ this week (which itself still has a 30-day free trial available).
- Up to five free months of Apple Music and up to four free months of Apple Fitness+
- Free three-month trial of YouTube Premium
- Two free months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
- Four free months of Calm Premium
Launched in 2020, Walmart+ has become Prime’s main competitor.
Walmart has strategically scheduled its week of exclusive price cuts before Prime Day, a one- to two-day promotional period that routinely takes place in July.
While Amazon hasn’t set a date for this year’s edition, an expert told DailyMail.com that Walmart+ Week is nowhere near as popular.
“Prime Day is a very established shopping opportunity that shoppers look forward to.
“Walmart+ Week is a much less visible opportunity, so it takes more time to reach consumers and gain traction,” said retail expert Neil Saunders of analytics firm Global Data.
This week only, Walmart+ subscribers can get 20 cents off per gallon of gas and 20 percent back in Walmart Cash on flights, hotels or car rentals booked through the company’s travel portal.
As the battle for market dominance between Walmart and Amazon continues, each has its advantages.
Amazon is the overall leader in US online retail, with a market share of roughly 37 percent, while Walmart sits at 6 percent.
But for consumers who want both a personalized experience and competent delivery service, Walmart is leading the way with its more than 10,000 locations. That includes regular Walmart supercenters, the smaller neighborhood markets and wholesale Sam’s Clubs.
Walmart’s market share of the total US retail market is 8.59 percent Capital one shopping. Amazon follows somewhat closely.
Amazon remains the leader in subscriptions, with about 200 million Prime members, while Walmart+ has about 59 million.
That’s likely due to Prime’s fifteen-year head start, since its launch in 2005 at its original price of $79 per year.
But Saunders also said he believes “Walmart+ will never be able to fully compete with Amazon Prime.”
Amazon is the overall leader in US online retail, with a market share of approximately 37 percent, while Walmart sits at 6 percent
Amazon bought Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion in 2017, in part to compete with companies like Walmart with a huge brick-and-mortar presence
“Prime is an entire ecosystem of benefits and services that go far beyond free delivery,” he told DailyMail.com. For example, it comes with a streaming service for movies and TV shows.
‘Walmart+ has relatively few bells and whistles. However, this does not mean that Walmart cannot grow and be successful. There is room for both services.’
Walmart+ is cheaper than Prime at $98 per year, and $49 per year for those who receive government assistance programs such as food stamps.
Prime’s annual membership for EBT recipients is almost $84, while regular membership is $139.99 per year.
Saunders says Amazon has the right to charge more for Amazon Prime because it simply has a better price than Walmart+.
He says the bottom line is: if you have a Walmart near you and would like to get groceries and other items delivered to your home for free, then Walmart+ is the right choice for you.
If you want free delivery plus several other benefits, Amazon Prime is probably the better choice.
Each service offers unique, distinctive benefits to its subscribers, which can be found below: