Walmart speeds delivery

Walmart is testing a new way to speed online orders: storing some third-party seller goods in store back rooms for same-day delivery. (msn.com) The pilot is running in Dallas-area stores, according to a Financial Times report published April 19. Walmart is using shelves in back rooms as staging space for marketplace items that would normally ship from outside warehouses. (msn.com) Walmart is pairing that store network with software that decides where inventory should sit and how orders should move. The company has spent the past two years rolling out artificial intelligence tools for routing, mapping delivery zones and managing local fulfillment. (corporate.walmart.com 1) (corporate.walmart.com 2) The timing follows a sharp expansion in Walmart’s delivery reach. On April 16, 2025, Walmart said new geospatial mapping had added 12 million U.S. households to its delivery footprint. (corporate.walmart.com) By April 8, 2025, Walmart said same-day delivery reached 93% of U.S. households and that it delivered more than 5 billion units through same-day service in the prior year. The company said orders fulfilled within three hours or less grew 180% year over year. (corporate.walmart.com) That matters because marketplace growth depends on more than adding sellers. Amazon built its lead by combining a huge catalog with fast fulfillment, and Walmart is trying to use its nearly 4,600 U.S. stores to narrow that gap. (aboutamazon.com) (corporate.walmart.com) Amazon is still pushing the speed standard higher. On March 17, 2026, Amazon said it was adding 1-hour and 3-hour delivery options for more than 90,000 products, with 1-hour delivery available in hundreds of U.S. cities and towns and 3-hour delivery in more than 2,000. (aboutamazon.com 1) (aboutamazon.com 2) Walmart has also been making its marketplace more attractive to outside merchants. At its August 26, 2025 seller summit, the company announced expanded next-day delivery, lower holiday storage fees for some sellers and new artificial intelligence tools to help merchants list and manage products. (corporate.walmart.com) For brands, faster retailer fulfillment changes where inventory sits and when shoppers buy. If more marketplace goods can be placed in local store back rooms instead of distant warehouses, Walmart can turn stores into mini distribution hubs and make delivery speed part of the sales pitch. (pymnts.com) (corporate.walmart.com) The test is still a pilot, not a chainwide rollout. But it shows Walmart’s next move in retail’s delivery race: use physical stores not just to sell goods, but to hold them closer to the customer. (msn.com)