Retail giants Target and Walmart gain ground in e-commerce war

Abstract

Amazon is on top of the e-commerce game. But Catherine Gutierrez shares how Walmart Plus and Target Shipt are making an impact on online retail sales.

Editor’s note: Catherine Gutierrez is VP of Marketing at MFour Mobile Research, Irvine, Calif. This is an edited version of a piece that originally appeared under the title, “Is Amazon a monopoly?”

amazon prime box Is Amazon a monopoly?

We asked our consumer panel… and they said yes.

Fifty-nine percent of in-store shoppers and 52% of app shoppers think Amazon has a monopoly. It makes sense – times have changed. Back in the good old days (pre-COVID-19) you probably mainly shopped in-store. So, it was NBD that Amazon was the king of e-commerce. You didn’t need to competitive shop on apps.

Oh, how times have changed.

Now, 61% of people shop on e-commerce more than 30% of the time.¹ No need to be a math whiz to see an increase in these numbers. Naturally, buyers want more options online, similar to ones they enjoy when they shop in-person. Lucky for them, two players are quite happy to challenge Amazon: Walmart Plus and Target Shipt.

It’s a juicy opportunity.

At the start of 2020, there were more than 150 million paid Prime members worldwide, according to Jeff Bezos.² That’s a number Walmart Plus and Target Shipt would both love to steal. And there’s plenty of market share to take from. The e-commerce giant currently accounts for roughly 38% of all online retail sales in the United States.³Amazon is clearly on top of its game.

You might say, they’re primed for competition 😉.

Walmart+ has a plan

Walmart cart Walmart has a win in mind. The company wants to kick Amazon off its horse. And here’s how it plans to do it:

Free delivery. Customers will receive as fast as same-day delivery on more than 160,000 items including tech, toys, household essentials and groceries.²
Scan and go. This feature in the Walmart app will allow for a faster way to shop in-store. Using the Walmart app, customers can scan their items as they shop and pay using Walmart Pay for a quick and touch-free payment experience.²
Fuel discounts. Walmart Plus members will be able to save up to 5 cents per gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA, and Murphy Express fuel stations. Sam’s Club fuel stations will also be added to the lineup.²
Same-day deliveries. Although Walmart requires orders to be over $35, it won’t charge for same-day deliveries like Amazon does.⁴

That’s quite the list.

But, is it enough?

A look at Target Shipt

target cart Walmart’s not the only retailer in town. As any mom will tell you, Target does a great job at vying for hard-earned cash. And this pandemic has given the company a great chance to leverage its recent Shipt acquisition to challenge both Amazon and Walmart.

Same-day deliveries. Target Shipt offers same-day delivery of Target purchases, as quickly as within two hours of when you place an order.⁵
Personal shopping. A personal shopper deployed by Shipt does your shopping. They text you if something you ordered is out of stock. When they’re done, your stuff gets delivered right to your front door—within normal business hours.⁵
Low priced subscription. An annual subscription to Shipt is $99, or $8.25 a month, and includes unlimited orders of $35 or more from Target and participating stores in your area.
No membership required. Target Shipt doesn’t require a membership, if you want to, you pay $9.99 per delivery.

As you can see, Target Shipt is taking a different path than Prime and Plus are.

Most notably, it doesn’t require you to subscribe to a membership, making the app easier to try out. Then it creates value with a personal shopper. The red and white retailer is certainly doing its part to differentiate.

What does it all mean for you?

Well, if you sell in these categories, e-commerce retail wars have a direct impact on your business.

There are now multiple chances to advertise and gain market share with the momentum that has been created by these retailers. If you’re a retailer yourself, it’s helpful to know what the competition is doing, so you can come prepared to the game.

And, if you’re in market research, you need to know how this impacts clients. No matter the industry, you’re well served to study the actions of these three giants.

Here’s how you can do it.

Market research.

Market research and insights have evolved too. You can now get e-commerce data on consumers that you could never access before using tools such as apps, consumer panels and smartphone-enabled technology. Use these tools, and more, to find out exactly what consumers want— and then deliver.

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