Walmart GoLocal expands delivery to 1,600 locations

Dive Brief:

Walmart GoLocal, the retail giant's white-label delivery service, is now delivering from 1,600 retail and business locations in the U.S. as it continues to expand its customer base, President and CEO Doug McMillon said on an earnings call last week.
That's up from the nearly 1,000 service pickup points McMillon noted on a February earnings call. At the time, McMillon said GoLocal sought "to end this year closer to 5,000" locations.
GoLocal's first retail client, The Home Depot, has expanded the number of stores offering GoLocal delivery to around 300 stores located across the country, according to a Home Depot spokesperson. Coverage includes major metropolitan areas like Washington D.C. as well as more rural areas.

Dive Insight:

Adding more delivery locations should spur more volume for Walmart, a critical component in making its budding service more efficient and sustainable as it competes with other same-day delivery providers.

"This is good for customers, our clients and for us as we lower the cost per order by increasing the combined order size and the route density," McMillon said of Walmart GoLocal's service expansion in February.

GoLocal isn't exclusively targeting deals with major retail chains like Home Depot. It announced an agreement with Kelly-Moore Paints in April to provide same-day paint delivery at select stores in California, Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas, with more locations to be added in the coming months.

“One of Walmart GoLocal’s priorities is to support mid-sized and regional businesses with low-cost delivery capabilities, and we’re excited to add Kelly-Moore Paints to the growing list of Walmart GoLocal clients,” said Harsit Patel, general manager of Walmart GoLocal, in a statement.

GoLocal is also pursuing new customers by linking up with platforms that help retailers fulfill last-mile deliveries. Cognetry Labs tapped GoLocal in February as a delivery provider for the mid-sized and independent grocers using its platform.

In March, GoLocal announced it would become a delivery provider on Delivery Solutions' platform, which offers third-party aggregation of last-mile shipping and fulfillment. Delivery Solutions' platform offers same-day delivery providers such as Instacart, Shipt and DoorDash, in addition to parcel carriers like FedEx and UPS, according to its website.

“Due to our coverage, cost and extensive delivery capabilities, we know that Delivery Solutions customers will find the fulfillment options that best fits their needs through Walmart GoLocal, including delivery in as little as 30 minutes," Patel said in a statement.

GoLocal's expansion comes as more retailers plan to offer same-day delivery options to meet consumer demand around shipping speeds. A December survey of 500 enterprise retailers from Bringg found that 99% of respondents said they will offer same-day delivery in the next three years, versus 35% currently.