FedEx services coming to Walmart
500 Walmart stores to add FedEx Office locations over next 2 years.
Walmart is continuing to build on its efforts to become a onestop shop in the internet age. The retailer on Tuesday said it is adding FedEx Office locations, where customers can ship packages, drop off returns and pick up deliveries, to 500 of its U.S. stores.
The announcement follows a pilot program in which the companies tested FedEx stores in 46 Walmart locations in six years. Under the new program, FedEx Office will expand to about 10 percent of Walmart’s U.S. stores over the next two years.
The partnership “builds on a shared goal of providing customers convenience and value, so they can save both time and money,” Brian Philips, chief executive of FedEx Office, said in a statement.
In early tests, the companies found that many customers shopped at Walmart after visiting the FedEx store, Philips told CNBC on Tuesday.
Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, has long been known for its sprawling supercenters, some of which include vision centers, pharmacies, nail salons, dry cleaners, bank branches, even eateries like McDonald’s. The addition of FedEx, though, comes as the retailer invests heavily in its online business. Amazon. com, Walmart’s largest rival, now accepts returns at Kohl’s department stores and allows customers to pick up packages at a number of neighborhood stores and lockers.
The announcement is the latest in a series of partnerships Walmart has unveiled in the past week, as the world’s largest retailer looks to build its online and delivery businesses. Handy, an installation and assembly service, will soon be available at nearly half of Walmart’s U.S. stores. (Amazon and Ikea also offer similar services.) And last week Walmart announced that it would partner with ride-sharing service Uber to deliver groceries in 100 cities nationwide.