Walmart is pushing its subscription service, Walmart+, as part of its promotions for its Black Friday sale. The company plans to offer its discounts on TVs, appliances, and other goodies to subscribers first, giving them first dibs on Black Friday and holiday offers.
The American retail giant said Monday that Walmart+ members will be the first in line to enjoy its offers. The company said customers who are also members of its service, which is similar to Amazon Prime, will be able to start seeing deals online four hours earlier than other non-member shoppers.
Analysts said Walmart is leveraging its deals to attract more members to its service, while also taking advantage of the ongoing global supply shortage. Due to global supply chain issues, popular items have been in short supply and most online and offline stores are finding it hard to restock.
Accenture's holiday shopping survey showed that almost a third of American shoppers are worried about stock availability this coming holiday season. The survey included around 1,500 participants, most of which said they plan to do their holiday shopping earlier this year.
The survey showed that shoppers are mostly aware of the supply shortage, with around 36% saying they have noticed empty shelves when shopping in some stores. Around 26% said they also noticed a lot of out-of-stock items when shopping online.
Apart from Walmart, retailers such as Best Buy are also pushing their subscription services. Best Buy recently announced that members of its TotalTech subscription service will be able to shop for items that are not available to non-members this coming holiday season.
Both Best Buy and Walmart are attempting to copy Amazon's success with its Prime service, which has proven effective in winning more customers and loyalty. Walmart launched its Walmat+ service last year. The paid membership program costs $98 per year or $12.95 per month. Walmart said the membership plan pays for itself in two deliveries per month given its standard delivery charge of $7.95. apart from shipping discounts, the program also offers members additional benefits such as fuel discounts, checkout line priority, unlimited grocery deliveries for orders of $35 or more, and access to its Walmart+ app.
