Walmart Drops Shipping Membership Program, Adds 2-Day Free Shipping Offer

Walmart ditched its Amazon Prime-like ShippingPass membership program (see 1606290078) after less than a year and is refunding customers in full for their subscription, it said on its website Tuesday. “In today's world of e-commerce, two-day free shipping is table stakes. It no longer makes sense to charge for it,” said Marc Lore, CEO of Walmart U.S. eCommerce, in a statement. Walmart replaced the membership-based shipping program with another Amazon-like perk: free two-day shipping. But Walmart’s two-day ship offer -- on more than 2 million products -- has a $35 minimum spend and no membership fee. On the website, Walmart thanked ShippingPass customers for "helping us develop our new 2-day shipping offer." Refunds will be automatically issued to the original form of payment within 30 days, Walmart said. Lore said the new shipping program is “the first of many moves” the retailer will make to improve the customer experience and promote growth. Free shipping applies to items customers shop the most, it said, including baby necessities, pet products, food, cereal and peanut butter, cleaning supplies, beauty products, top electronics and toys.