By Melissa Fares
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (N:WMT) on Tuesday unveiled the perks of its new membership program, Walmart Plus, which will grant subscribers unlimited free delivery, fuel discounts and no checkout lines.
Touted as a rival to Amazon.com Inc's (O:AMZN) Prime subscription, Walmart's new loyalty program will cost $98 a year or $12.95 a month. It will become available to all U.S.-based customers on Sept. 15.
Amazon Prime, which offers U.S. shoppers fast shipping, streaming video and other services, costs $119 a year or $12.99 a month.
"We are a company committed to meeting our customers' needs," said Janey Whiteside, chief customer officer at Walmart. "We've designed this program as the ultimate life hack for them."
The service aims to both attract new customers and turn existing ones into even more loyal shoppers, Whiteside said.
Members will have access to same-day delivery on more than 160,000 items from toys to groceries. To qualify, orders must be at least $35.
Walmart was already offering a similar service called "Delivery Unlimited," which allowed an unlimited number of deliveries for a yearly or monthly fee. Members of this service will automatically become Walmart Plus members.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer has also invested in services like curbside pickup and next-day and two-day delivery.
Using the Walmart app, Walmart Plus members will be able to scan their purchases as they shop and pay without having to wait in line. Additionally, members can save up to 5 cents a gallon at nearly 2,000 Walmart, Murphy USA and Murphy Express fuel stations.
On Thursday, Walmart said it was joining Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) in a bid for social media company TikTok's U.S. assets as it also seeks to expand its advertising business.
