Wal-Mart Free 2-Day Shipping Takes on Amazon Prime

By Paul Ausick Updated Jan 13, 9:30AM EST · Published May 12, 10:05AM EDT

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Wal-Mart Free 2-Day Shipping Takes on Amazon Prime — © courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., photo By Spencer Tirey

In what the company probably hopes is one of those “better late than never” moves, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) has kicked off a $49 per year subscription plan offering free two-day shipping to its customers. The program is available by invitation only and is an extension of the company’s “Shipping Pass” service that offers three-day shipping for an annual subscription fee of $50.

The two-day shipping test is clearly a response to Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) free two-day Prime shipping service. Amazon launched its Prime shipping service in 2005, so Wal-Mart has some real catching up to do.

Amazon does not release exact figures on the number of Prime subscribers, but based on numbers it has published, the number of Prime subscribers at the end of 2015 probably totaled around 46 million worldwide. One estimate had the number at 60 million to 80 million, according to a report at Re/code.

Assuming an average annual subscription cost of $100, Prime generates $4.6 billion in annual revenues. In 2015, Amazon’s operating income totaled $2.23 billion and net income totaled $596 million. In the first quarter of 2016, operating income totaled $1.1 billion and net income totaled $513 million.
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And Amazon has another revenue stream. It fulfills orders on its Marketplace partners who are charged fees for everything from inventory storage to shipping costs, including the cost of shipping to Prime members. Partners are willing to pay these fees because Amazon customers who are Prime subscribers prefer to purchase products that are eligible for free Prime shipping.

Can Wal-Mart really compete with that? It’s difficult to see how. But the world’s largest retailer has to do something to beef up its business. When Wal-Mart reported fourth-quarter results, it forecast net sales growth in 2016 to be flat (up 3% to 4% on a constant currency basis). When the company reports first-quarter fiscal 2017 results next week, analysts are looking for earnings per share of $0.89, down from $1.03 a year ago, and revenues of $113.17, down from $114.83 last year.

Wal-Mart has to take a run at Amazon in every way it can. Growing its online business may be its best chance for growth, given the sluggish global economy. But Wal-Mart is starting in a big hole.

Shares traded higher shortly after the opening bell Thursday, up about 0.5% at $66.73 in a 52-week range of $56.30 to 79.94.

About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.