Walmart dives into next-day delivery

    Mass merchandise retailer Walmart said it will begin offering free next-day delivery to customers with online orders of more than $35.
    Walmart has taken aim at a consumer segment initially carved out by online retailer Amazon.
   In 2011, Walmart started offering same-day pickup from its stores and initiated two-day free shipping two years ago. 
   Most recently, it started offering grocery order pickups from 3,100 locations and will offer same-day grocery order delivery from 1,600 locations later this year. The company said its grocery pickup and same-day delivery services will be able to cover about 80% and 50% of the U.S. population, respectively, by year’s end.
    According to Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart eCommerce U.S., “NextDay” delivery will be available first to Walmart.com customers in Phoenix and Las Vegas and will expand to Southern California in the coming days.
   “It will roll out gradually over the coming months, with a plan to reach approximately 75% of the U.S. population this year, which includes 40 of the top 50 major U.S. metro areas,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
   Starting out, next-day delivery will be available for 220,000 items “most frequently” bought by the retailer’s customers, “ranging from diapers and laundry detergent to toys and electronics,” Lore said.
   Walmart operates about 4,100 stores nationwide. “With 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a Walmart store, we’re well positioned to offer even faster delivery to customers in the future,” Lore said.