Walmart
- Amazon Prime members will soon need to spend $150 to get free grocery delivery via Amazon Fresh.
- Members of Walmart's fledgling membership platform only need to spend $35 to get free delivery.
- Walmart wasted no time taking aim at its rival over the change to free grocery delivery.
Amazon announced a major shift this week to make its Prime members spend more to get free grocery delivery, and Walmart wasted no time attacking its rival.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant took to Twitter Tuesday to point out that members of its subscription service, Walmart+, only need to spend $35 or more on groceries to get free delivery — far more than the $150 or more Prime members will need to spend starting at the end of this month to get free grocery delivery via Amazon Fresh.
"That Fresh $150 free delivery minimum is looking pretty stale right about now," Walmart wrote in a tweet.
—Walmart (@Walmart) January 31, 2023
In January, Amazon said that it would raise the minimum order amount for free delivery to $150 for Prime members. The change will take effect February 28, the company said. Currently, Prime members get free delivery from Amazon Fresh with orders of at least $35, or $50 if they order from Whole Foods.
Under the new terms, Prime customers will pay a fee of between $3.95 and $9.95 for delivery, depending on the value of their order.
Amazon didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. In a January email to customers, Amazon said the fees "will help keep prices low in our online and physical grocery stores as we better cover grocery delivery costs."
Whole Foods is also pressuring its suppliers to lower costs as food inflation slows down. The supermarket, which has a reputation among customers for being pricey, is trying to reduce its on-the-shelf prices for packaged foods.
Meanwhile, Walmart — which is notorious for squeezing suppliers to keep prices low — has been on the offensive to try to get more people to sign up for its fledgling membership platform.
Founded in September 2020, Walmart+ offers members similar perks to Amazon Prime, such as free pickup and delivery from stores. But it is magnitudes smaller than its rival — Amazon Prime finished 2022 with an estimated 168 million members, per estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, while Walmart+ had an estimated 11 million members as of July 2022.
Still, Walmart is using Amazon's grocery policy change to try to gain ground on its rival.
"As others are hiking their delivery fees, Walmart+ isn't!" Walmart+ general manager Chris Cracchiolo wrote in a LinkedIn post. "I'm happy to say W+ members will still get FREE delivery on all orders over $35."