Wal-Mart has taken off its gloves in the fight against Amazon, eliminating the $49 membership fee so any customer can get 2 million items shipped free, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Wal-Mart has been on a distribution center building spree in recent years, including the one in north Fort Worth, so it can ship online orders faster. Fort Worth is one of only five cities in the country to have a dedicated e-commerce facility.
The retail giant also lowered the minimum purchase amount to get free shipping from $50 to $35. It will also be refunding the annual fee to current ShippingPass customers, according to the company’s website.
Starting Tuesday, two-day shipping will be available on most everyday items. In some cases, products can be delivered in-store or to your home in one day.
Delivering what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth innovation, every day. Get the Dallas Innovates e-newsletter.
R E A D N E X T
-
A 1.5 million-square-foot automated fulfillment center is slated to open in Lancaster in 2023, followed by a 730,000 square-foot automated grocery distribution center in 2024. Both will deploy the latest in high-tech robotics and innovation.
-
My Possibilities is providing programming to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the state of Texas through support from Capital One.
-
The store's cashier lanes are gone. In their place: 34 registers in a wide-open area, with a "host" to guide you through. The goal of the new service is to eliminate lines that stack up behind conventional checkout lanes.
-
The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company is building an $11M, 22,000SF drug manufacturing plant in Dallas' Deep Ellum, aiming to "disrupt and disable big pharma." The startup plans to launch an online pharmacy selling 100 of the most commonly prescribed generic prescription drugs at a 15 percent markup plus a $3 dispensing fee. "Our only goal is to push down the pricing of drugs for every American," the company pledges.
-
The Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company aims to "disrupt and disable big pharma" by offering more than 100 generic drugs "at striking savings" direct to consumers on a cash-pay basis. As a pharmaceutical wholesaler, MCCPDC says it can "bypass middlemen and outrageous markups" by simply charging a flat 15% margin and pharmacist fee. With an $11M plant going up now in Deep Ellum, Cuban clearly means business.