Walmart takes on Amazon with new 30-minute delivery offering
Walmart is not ceding the U.S. ultra-fast delivery market to Amazon.
The discount giant is now offering 30-minute-or-less delivery across 33 U.S. markets for members of its Walmart+ paid membership program. Customers can shop from more than 100,000 eligible items, including fresh groceries, pantry staples, baby essentials, cold and flu medicine, household supplies, pet food, electronics and prescription medications, for ultra-fast delivery.
The service is available to Walmart+ members for $10 in Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, Tampa, Oklahoma City and several other U.S. metro areas, with additional expansion opportunities expected over time. In these markets, customers will see “Delivery in 30 minutes or less” when the option is available for the address associated with their membership account.
Walmart is launching 30-minute-or-less delivery shortly following chief rival Amazon’s move to offer its Amazon Now ultra-fast delivery service in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Seattle with rapid expansion planned in dozens more U.S. cities by the end of the year. Prime members pay a discounted delivery fee of $3.99 per order, while customers without a Prime membership pay $13.99.
[READ MORE: Amazon expands 30-minute delivery across the U.S.]
According to Walmart, the service relies on its store footprint, proximity to customers and an advanced algorithm based on basket size, driver availability and distance from the store. In the first quarter of 2026, Walmart says it completed millions of deliveries in 30 minutes or less to more than 19,000 ZIP codes across the country.
Walmart has also been supporting delivery in 30 minutes or less with a rapidly expanding drone delivery program. The discounter expects to have a network of more than 270 drone delivery locations operational by 2027. The network will stretch from Los Angeles to Miami and service about 40 million U.S. consumers.
In addition, Walmart offers Express delivery in one hour or less and on-demand delivery in three hours or less. The retailer says it is seeing customer shopping behavior evolve as faster delivery options become available. When customers see items available in less than 30 minutes, Walmart analysis indicates shopping behavior increasingly shifts toward immediate, everyday needs and occasions.
"Customers are looking for faster, easier ways to get what they need in the moments that matter," said Tracy Poulliot, chief e-commerce officer, Walmart U.S. "We’ve been delivering orders in 30 minutes or less for more than a year, and today 26% of our express deliveries are already arriving in that timeframe. As customers continue to look for more immediate shopping options, we’re making this service more prominent where it’s available — helping them get the items they need, right when they need them."
Walmart believes it has "significant opportunity" to continue expanding delivery capabilities to more communities over time.
Based in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates more than 10,900 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries.
