In its latest bid to take on rival Amazon.com Inc. WMT -0.73% this holiday season, Wal-Mart is promising to get presents under the tree on the same day customers in some cities order them online.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT -0.73% said Tuesday that it began testing same-day delivery last week in Philadelphia and Northern Virginia. It added Minneapolis on Tuesday and will add San Jose and San Francisco later this month; the trial will last through the holidays. Called Wal-Mart To Go, the service costs $10 regardless of the size of the order.
Instead of shipping goods from its football-field sized distribution centers scattered across the country, Bentonville, Ark., based Wal-Mart will pluck products from its vast network of more than 3,000 "supercenters."
United Parcel Service Inc. UPS -0.91% will pick up the goods and deliver them to customers, who have until noon to place orders and can choose a four-hour window in the evening to receive deliveries. The service doesn't cover groceries.
The move toward same-day delivery is the latest tactic Wal-Mart is trying to beat back the threat from online powerhouse Amazon. Over the past two years, Wal-Mart has been ramping up its e-commerce business and acquired nearly a dozen start-ups to help broaden its online presence.
The retailer's Silicon Valley tech shop, called @WalmartLabs, has revamped the retailer's website and mobile applications, expanded a grocery delivery service that began in California in 2010, and launched Goodies, a monthly food subscription service.
In April Wal-Mart began a program called Pay with Cash, allowing customers to order merchandise online and pick it up in store...
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Source: Argentine Beef Packers S.A.
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