Key facts
- Walmart is adding Subway meals to its 30-minute delivery service.
Walmart is integrating Subway meals into its express delivery service, allowing customers to order sandwiches via the Walmart app. This expansion, planned for 1,400 stores by late summer, leverages Walmart's existing store network and driver fleet to compete with food delivery services and enhance its e-commerce offerings.
Walmart has integrated Subway meals into its fast-delivery service, making them available to customers through its app. This initiative is part of Walmart's strategy to expand its e-commerce offerings amid intense competition, particularly with Amazon. Subway is Walmart's largest in-store restaurant tenant, and the retailer plans to extend this fast-delivery service to approximately 1,400 stores by late summer. Walmart sees this as a starting point for potentially offering delivery from any in-tenant location within its stores. The company utilizes its over 4,600 stores to fulfill online deliveries, and its 30-minute delivery option for groceries and other items has been its fastest-growing service, with sales from store-fulfilled delivery more than doubling over the past two years. This move also occurs as lower-income households, historically a key consumer base for Walmart, are moderating their spending. Subway has had an in-store presence at Walmart supercenters since 2004, alongside other fast-food chains and regional operators. Walmart is using its driver network to go toe-to-toe with food-delivery companies such as Uber Technologies and DoorDash. Walmart has been testing delivery from Subway restaurants located within its stores since spring, with the option to combine restaurant orders with groceries and other items into a single delivery. Executives indicated potential future integrations with AI assistants and expansion to restaurants beyond Walmart's physical locations.
This move enhances Walmart's competitive position against Amazon and other online retailers by offering a broader range of goods, including prepared meals, through its rapid delivery network, potentially capturing more consumer spending.