Walmart speeds store-fulfilled deliveries

Walmart said on May 21 that more than 36% of its store-fulfilled deliveries in the first quarter arrived in under three hours, extending a push to make its stores work more like local fulfillment hubs. The company disclosed the figure in its first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings materials and repeated the point in comments from Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey. Walmart is also piloting 30-minute-or-less delivery in select U.S. cities as it adds faster options to its same-day network. The moves add detail to a convenience strategy Walmart has been using to compete on speed as well as price. ### How fast are Walmart’s store deliveries getting? More than 36% of store-fulfilled deliveries arrived in under three hours in the first quarter, Walmart said in its May 21 earnings release. The company said store-fulfilled delivery has more than doubled over the past two years. (corporate.walmart.com) John David Rainey gave a sharper measure on the earnings call, telling analysts that sub-hour options are growing the fastest. Rainey said Walmart can now reach approximately 60% of the U.S. population in 30 minutes or less. ### What is Walmart rolling out beyond the three-hour window? (corporate.walmart.com) Walmart is rolling out 30-minute-or-less delivery in more than 30 U.S. markets, according to Store Brands. The service covers more than 100,000 items, including groceries, baby products, household supplies, pet food, electronics and prescription delivery. (retaildive.com) Select cities in the Midwest, Southwest and South are part of the current push, Store Brands reported. Walmart said it plans to expand the program in the coming months. ### Who is talking about the delivery push inside Walmart? Rainey linked faster delivery to customer engagement in remarks cited by Retail Dive. (storebrands.com) He said quicker speeds were helping drive usage, with sub-hour services posting the fastest growth. Doug McMillon, Walmart’s chief executive, and Rainey have both been pointing to stores as digital fulfillment nodes in recent earnings updates. (storebrands.com) In the first-quarter release, Walmart said eCommerce growth in the U.S. was reinforced by the strength of stores in fulfilling digital orders. (retaildive.com) ### How does this fit with Walmart’s broader delivery network? Walmart has been expanding same-day reach for several quarters, using stores rather than only dedicated eCommerce facilities to move orders closer to shoppers. Retail Dive reported in 2024 that Walmart offered same-day delivery to more than 80% of the U.S. population. (corporate.walmart.com) The company is also building out other rapid-delivery formats. Retail Dive reported that Walmart’s drone delivery program is available in 66 locations across Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and Arkansas, and that Walmart plans to expand drone coverage with Wing to more than 270 stores by 2027. (retaildive.com) ### What comes next in the rollout? More than 30 U.S. markets are already included in Walmart’s 30-minute-or-less delivery rollout, Store Brands said. Walmart said the next step is broader expansion in the coming months as it extends the service beyond the initial cities. (storebrands.com) (retaildive.com)