Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on Tuesday shed some light on Walmart+, the company's much-anticipated subscription service that is widely viewed to be a competitor to Amazon Prime.
"There's been a lot of buzz recently about membership at Walmart," McMillon said in an earnings call with analysts.
He said the company has tested a membership model with its grocery-focused delivery subscription, Delivery Unlimited.
"Since that launch, we've proven to ourselves that we can pick and deliver a broad set of categories across the Supercenter, not just food and consumables, but a wide assortment of general merchandise," he said. "We think that assortment breadth and our ability to deliver with speed nationally combined with a few other benefits for customers will result in a compelling proposition."
Walmart+ will reportedly offer same-day delivery of groceries and fuel discounts, among other perks.
Walmart customers will continue to get the low prices they have come to expect from the retailer, once the subscription launches, he said.
"But the reason that they would want a membership is because of the increased levels of service that we can provide," he said. "If you want delivery from Walmart frequently, it's just more efficient for the customer to buy in bulk, and that takes the form of an annual membership. And then we'll add some things to it beyond just delivery."
The company plans to focus on driving up repeat purchases among Walmart+ members, once the service launches, he said.
"We'll also get the benefits of data and learn how to serve customers more effectively in time as that membership grows," he said.
McMillon declined to offer a timeline for the launch, saying, "We'll share more about that membership and timing when it's appropriate."
