Join Walmart+ today and get a $20 promo code!
Walmart Plus rolled out last year as a program designed to reward frequent shoppers with rewards like this:
- Unlimited free shipping on millions of items from Walmart.com (no order minimums!)
- Free grocery delivery to your home (availability varies)
- Fuel discounts of 5 cents at all Walmart and Murphy gas stations
- Early access to sales and deals
- Up to 80% in prescription drug savings
- Cheaper membership price than Amazon Prime
- Flexible payment plan – choose $12.95 monthly or $98 per year
The benefit I use the most with my Walmart+ membership is definitely the free shipping with no minimum purchase required. It’s just like Amazon Prime, although Walmart uses FedEx to ship packages.
Like Amazon, you can find a wide variety of items at Walmart.com – electronics, clothing and shoes for the whole family, pantry items, health and wellness and even furniture. And of course, their grocery selection is just as good as Amazon, and offers much more flexibility and less restrictions. Speaking of food, you can also use your EBT Edge card to shop groceries at Walmart.com.
If you’re still not sure, try the 30-day FREE trial with no obligation to stick with it.
Join Walmart+ today and get a $20 promo code!
And now some questions you might have…
How Reliable is It? Over the years, I’ve found that Prime shipping hasn’t always measured up to its claims. My items don’t always arrive in two days. Walmart.com has proven to be surprisingly reliable and they primarily use FedEx. Not only do my items arrive on time, but sometimes they show up the next day! The exception to this is their marketplace or third party items, similar to Amazon.
What About the Selection? Amazon clearly has the edge here, offering many things that Walmart doesn’t, like used books and more choices within product categories. However Walmart.com continues to expand its selection and besides clothing, furniture, home decor, toys and electronics, now includes digital video, new books, audiobooks and even e-books. They also have auto and tire, photo services and pharmacy.
If you’re looking for used books with free shipping, I highly recommend Ebay. You can deal directly with sellers instead of fooling with Amazon’s third-party system (which gives its sellers a bum deal, in my opinion).
Just like Amazon, Walmart.com offers a Registry service and gift cards.
You can also stream TV shows and movies through Walmart.com using Vudu.
How About Pantry and Grocery Items? My answer might have been different a few years ago, but Walmart offers a LOT more now in terms of grocery items. From 2018 to 2022 their grocery business has doubled. You can buy online and have shipped to your door, or have it ready at the store for pick-up.
Amazon’s Pantry service was discontinued in 2021, and now that they own Whole Foods, the whole cabal is rolled into the Amazon Fresh package. Unfortunately, it’s only available to PAYING Amazon Prime members ($119 per year) while anyone can order groceries from Walmart.com for FREE.
What About Prices? That’s kind of a no-brainer, as Amazon has not been able to beat out Walmart’s “always low” prices, especially since it acquired Whole Foods.
Walmart also has the benefit of being a huge chain, with a network of more than 4,000 brick-and-mortar stores around the nation, more than 2,000 of which offer same-day delivery. For comparison’s sake, Amazon has just over 100 fulfillment centers in the US.
And with Walmart, you can tap into the low prices they offer on all that other stuff besides groceries. Alongside your cereal and crackers and toiletries, you can order $10 George brand jeans for and $6 Wonder Nation dresses for your toddler, and maybe even a new gadget.
Walmart.com has this unique feature, which lets you see how many times you’ve ordered an item, and gives you the option of adding it to your cart in whatever quantity you want with 1 click.
What About Customer Service? Based on my experience, both Walmart and Amazon have competed successfully in this regard. Both offer quick and easy returns, however I do give Walmart the edge for a few reasons:
- You have the option of returning to your local store and getting an instant refund instead of fooling with packages and pickups.
- Walmart offers unexpected “perks” to loyal customers like receiving a full refund AND being told “you can keep the item.” This has happened to me at least 5 times this year!
- Walmart.com surprises you with free product samples in your deliveries from time to time. We have received stuff like a LEGO bracelet, detergent trial packs, chewing gum, high value coupons and snack foods.
Join Walmart+ today and get a $20 promo code!
Do you use one or both of these services? Which do you prefer? Let me know if you have any more questions!
I read an article about Amazon’s growth and how much they surpassed Walmart. I’m glad that Walmart is competing! It’s not good for one company to get a monopoly on the market. I hope this will keep things competitive and with great prices for us! I have ordered from Walmart a few times since they implemented this. I like having a retail store to return things to if there is a problem and have found some of the items on Amazon to be junky and a pain to ship back.
Couldn’t agree more! Competition is vital to free markets. And that’s a good point about being able to do store returns. Bigger, bulkier stuff is a hassle to box up and send to Amazon. ~Anne Marie
I have tried both in the past. I do like getting digital credit from Amazon. I have not shopped online at Walmart since the store added this new service. Thanks!
The perks do add up, as long as you are not spending just to earn them. Haha! Does Amazon still have that thing where you can freebies by opting for “no rush” shipping? ~Anne Marie
I have to say, I was a huge fan of Amazon and a long time user of Prime. Disappointed when they raised their fee. Now I’m glad to hear Walmart is offering more – for less! Thanks for this!
I like Walmart’s system because you can actually get quite a lot without even buying the membership! But I can see where joining can hook you into the free shipping and really save a lot if you order regularly, which some do. My purchasing needs are hit or miss, so I don’t feel like it’s worth the extra money for a subscription.
Amazon has become way too invasive and powerful! And their Prime membership is really only affordable now if you’re a student. Thanks for the alternative ideas.
One of the services that could really work for those who shop at Walmart. Amazon becomes more and more aggressive in each and every area of their sale niche. Great ideas for alternative purchases and shopping.
Good to know. It is always a plus for consumers to be able to pick one which offers more savings. I will check out this offer from Walmart.
I thought about possibly getting this myself. I think there are a lot of great benefits to it. I love shopping at Walmart.
I am always using amazon but I am glad that walmart is competing and offering more services that can help their clients.
I really like the thought of having my groceries delivered to my porch. Is tipping baked into the Walmart+ price or is that something that you must add with every delivery?
It’s all rolled into the membership fee, so there are no additional fees or tips added onto grocery orders if they are $35 or more. Any orders that are under the minimum come with the standard $5.99 delivery fee. – Anne Marie