Sam’s Club has introduced a one-hour delivery option for online shoppers, expanding on its previous three-hour delivery window as part of Walmart’s strategic push to catch up to Amazon in e-commerce sales.
The membership retail club began offering ultra-fast delivery from its 600-plus stores on April 2 after an initial trial run in select markets and has fulfilled nearly 65,000 deliveries so far, according to a news release on Thursday. The average express order is being delivered in just 55 minutes. The 10 fastest deliveries were completed in less than 12 minutes.
A significant share of the orders includes everyday essentials such as bottled water, produce, rotisserie chicken and paper goods, not just convenience add-ons or urgent needs. The Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) division said the shopping habits indicate super fast delivery is moving from novelty to the norm.
Members can now choose between two express delivery options: an enhanced one-hour or less service at a flat $10 for Plus members / $22 for Club members, or the traditional three hours-or- less service at a reduced $5 for Plus members / $17 for Club members on eligible items. Standard delivery, shipping, and curbside pickup are also available.
“Members love our three hours-or-less express delivery, but they told us they wanted an even faster option — so, we delivered,” said Greg Pulsifer, senior vice president, eCommerce at Sam’s Club.
Sam’s Club is leveraging in-house Walmart technology for real-time inventory visibility and fulfilment optimization.
Sam’s Club and Walmart crowd source drivers through the Spark app. Drivers select orders they want to deliver with their own vehicles and pick them up at Walmart stores.
E-commerce as a share of Walmart’s total sales reached a record 23% in the fourth quarter, up from 11.4% in early 2022, after growing 27% year over year. For the full year, e-commerce sales exceeded $150 billion for the first time, up 5.5% from two years ago. The number of orders delivered in under three hours increased more than 60% in 2025, management said during the company’s earnings presentation in February. At Walmart U.S., 35% of store-fulfilled orders were delivered in under three hours in the fourth quarter.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) remains the dominant e-commerce seller in the United States, capturing about 56% of all digital retail sales but Walmart’s rate of growth in e-commerce sales is higher. Since the start of 2022, Walmart’s e-commerce sales have increased by 115.6%, compared to 63.2% for Amazon, according to PYMNTS Intelligence.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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