epa05168459 (FILE) A file photo dated 27 August 2015 showing the entrance to a Walmart store in Decatur, Georgia, USA. Retail giant Walmart disappointed investors with unimpressive figures and a reduced sales forecast in its quarterly report released 18 February 2016 in the United States. Profit was 4.6 billion dollars in the fourth quarter, representing a fall of 7.9 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. Total revenue fell by 1.4 per cent to 129.7 billion dollars, the world's largest retailer said. International sales came under pressure from the strong dollar, Walmart said, adding that it expected sales to stagnate in 2016.  EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

Walmart takes on Amazon with two-day delivery service

Retailer decreases membership fee on ShippingPass pilot program

Walmart is sharpening its attack on Amazon.com.

The world’s largest retailer is trimming its free-shipping pilot program to two days from three, and it’s cutting a dollar off the membership price. Membership is now $49 per year.

The Bentonville, Arkansas, company began testing the new service last year in answer to Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping, a big part of its domination of the retail sector.

Amazon membership costs $99 a year, which comes with a bewildering array of perks including household product subscriptions, one and two hour Prime Now delivery, streaming music and video, photo storage and more.

“Prime has become an all-you-can-eat, physical-digital hybrid,” Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos wrote in his annual shareholder letter in April. He wants the service to be such a good deal that you’d be “irresponsible” not to sign up.

And Amazon has thrived because of it. Analysts say Amazon Prime members buy more frequently and spend more money.

Walmart’s program, called ShippingPass, allows users to purchase more than one million items, including the most commonly purchased goods at Walmart.com.

“We can offer faster and more affordable shipping because we have a unique fulfilment network that includes new large fulfilmentcentres, stores, distribution centres and our transportation network,” Walmart said in a company release.

ShippingPass is only a pilot program and Walmart will not say when it plans to extend the service to all customers.

Photography by The Associated Press
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