Walmart fast delivery helps fuel 24% growth in e-commerce sales

Walmart on Thursday credited continued momentum in e-commerce and fast delivery with helping to drive 5.9% revenue growth during the second quarter, highlighting speed as a feature that attracts more online sales.

But U.S. comparable sales growth slowed from 4.6% a year ago to 2.6% and sales guidance was lower than the second half of the previous fiscal year.

The retail giant’s global e-commerce sales increased 23%, year over year, indicating consumer preference for convenient, quick commerce.

At Walmart U.S., (NASDAQ: WMT) e-commerce sales grew 24%. Deliveries fulfilled from local stores increased 43% alongside more than 50% growth in marketplace net sales. It was the 10th consecutive quarter of e-commerce growth over 20% for the domestic unit. Using stores as fulfillment centers, combined with freelance drivers using its Spark app, allows Walmart to achieve faster delivery speeds on a broad assortment of goods. Expedited delivery — those under three hours — represented 37% of store-fulfilled orders, according to the company’s earnings report. And 70% of online orders are delivered the same day.

E-commerce sales now represent over 23% of Walmart U.S.’s revenue mix, double the level from just five years ago. Over the past 18 months, U.S. e-commerce incremental margins have been in the high-single to low double-digit range.

E-commerce sales at Sam’s Club were up 26% with strong growth in club-fulfilled pickup-and-delivery, Walmart said. In early April, Sam’s Club launched an express delivery service from local stores, with items arriving in as soon as one hour.

Digital also enabled growth at Walmart International. E-commerce sales increased 19%, with strong improvements in China, India and Canada. E-commerce represents 30% of sales for the international unit.

“Walmart’s results tell two different stories. Consumers are being more cautious and overall sales growth slowed, but Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business still grew 24%, showing that shoppers continue to respond when value and convenience come together. Walmart is getting products to customers faster and also doing a better job of showing shoppers the delivery promise before they make a purchase,” said Owen Carr, chief merchandising officer for Spreetail, a third-party seller on Walmart.com. “We have seen our own delivery times shorten and conversion increase as customers take advantage of that faster shipping. That is especially meaningful for larger products, where long delivery windows have historically been a barrier to buying online.”

Management has previously said Walmart can reach 60% of the U.S. population in 30 minutes or less. That’s important as Amazon rolls out 30-minute delivery for select items in major metro areas.

Retailers are increasingly offering store-to-door fulfillment at scale. Home Depot this week launched nationwide express delivery from its 2,300-plus stores. Many retailers use on-demand delivery platforms like DoorDash and Roadie for last-mile delivery.

“The sustained growth we have seen in e-commerce across the company … is evidence that customers and members increasingly choose Walmart because they know we combine low prices across a broad assortment with speed and convenience,” said CEO John Fulner during a presentation to analysts.

“We believe a factor in this growth is our ability to deliver with speed. Customers and members around the world are getting super-fast deliveries of baskets that include pharmacy, fresh, frozen, fashion, and general merchandise, often in under 30 minutes. Fast delivery in the U.S. grew 48% for the quarter. Speed matters, and we have a significant competitive advantage. Our physical footprint, fulfillment infrastructure, and local delivery capabilities allow us to move closer to customers while maintaining an attractive cost structure. We have now expanded sub-30-minute delivery into 38 markets here in the U.S., giving millions of additional customers access to faster fulfillment,” he explained.

“Speed is not simply a fulfillment metric; it is an acquisition strategy. Customers who use fast delivery shop with us more frequently, they deepen engagement with us, and they are more likely to become Walmart+ members,” Fullner added.

Walmart’s sophisticated supply chain capabilities provide the backbone for e-commerce growth. Management noted that 3,100 of U.S. stores are now served with some level of automated freight and the company is processing more than 50% of e-commerce fulfillment volume through automated distribution centers.

Q2 numbers

Overall, Walmart posted revenue of $187.9 billion. Sales beat Wall Street estimates and the company raised its full-year guidance. Adjusted earnings per share was 81 cents compared to 68 cents in the same period a year ago. Operating income increased 17%, excluding currency fluctuations.

A $2.9 billion U.S. government tariff refund boosted the profit margin by nearly one point.

Walmart shares were down more than 9% in late-day trading Thursday, as investors appeared disappointed by quarterly comparable sales and the company’s sales guidance. Walmart said it expects net sales to increase between 3% and 3.75% in the third quarter and 4% to 5% for the year.

CFO John David Rainey said on CNBC that Walmart will use the tariff refunds to lower prices this quarter to help spur more demand.

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Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

Walmart fast delivery helps fuel 24% growth in e-commerce sales

Sub-30 minute delivery now available in 38 markets

Q2 numbers

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