(Photo: Steve Helber, AP)
You can get everything from food and clothing to tools and toys at Walmart. Now, add packing and shipping to that list.
FedEx announced Tuesday that it will open 500 FedEx office locations in Walmart stores across the country over the next two years.
The move is yet another way for Walmart to compete with Amazon, leveraging its stores to offer customers more convenience and making their stores destinations that can then lead to more sales.
People receiving packages will also have the option of having them sent to a Walmart-based FedEx office, where they’ll be held for five business days.
The Plano, Texas-based shipper ran a pilot program at 47 stores in six states.
“The growth of our store network to 500 new locations brings our brand even closer to busy consumers who have told us they are seeking secure, reliable options for packing, shipping and receiving packages,” FedEx CEO Brian Philips said in a statement.
Housing FedEx also helps Walmart.
“Basically Walmart is creating reasons for people to come into their stores,” says Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultancy GlobalData. “The hope is that while there, people will buy other products and boost sales.”
FedEx Office has approximately 1,900 company-owned locations nationwide, according to the company.
Last month, news broke that Amazon planned to test its own delivery service, which would bring packages from its third-party sellers’ warehouses to Amazon’s fulfillment centers and could cut a day from the delivery time. Shipping services Amazon already uses, such as FedEx, UPS, the U.S. Postal Service and local companies, would still be the ones to deliver packages from the Amazon fulfillment centers to shoppers’ homes — what the industry calls the last mile.
However, Amazon could eventually handle every leg of a package’s journey and eliminate the need for the delivery services currently used. With the massive online retailer’s volume, a service like this could trim delivery times and shipping costs.
Reacting to Amazon’s plan, FedEx said that no one customer makes up more than 3% of its business.
