Dive Summary:
- In an attempt to speed up delivery and compete with Amazon.com, Wal-Mart is considering a plan that would have customers deliver packages to online buyers.
- Such a plan would plant the retail giant in the middle of the "crowd-sourcing" phenomenon, which includes start-ups that help people make money by rent out things like a spare room or a car.
- The plan is currently in the early planning stages and likely to face a number of legal, regulatory and privacy challenges, but Wal-Mart is making a big push to ship online orders directly from stores and currently does so at 25 stores via carriers like FedEx and its own delivery trucks.
From the article:
... Wal-Mart has millions of customers visiting its stores each week. Some of these shoppers could tell the retailer where they live and sign up to drop off packages for online customers who live on their route back home, Anderson explained.
Wal-Mart would offer a discount on the customers' shopping bill, effectively covering the cost of their gas in return for the delivery of packages, he added. ...
