The subscription-delivery service, which could launch as soon as next month, will build on Walmart’s existing grocery-delivery service and could include discounts on prescription drugs and fuel, as well as the ability to check out of stores without waiting in line. (Recode)

Talking point: Walmart is trying to catch up to Amazon by building on its existing strength in grocery delivery and offering services Amazon Prime does not. Amazon accounts for about 40 per cent of online retail sales in the U.S., with Walmart a distant second, at five per cent. In November 2019, Walmart announced a grocery-delivery membership service; it currently has about 20 per cent market share in the US$800-billion grocery-delivery sector. Drugs and fuel are focuses for Walmart because Amazon doesn’t own gas stations or physical pharmacies. Walmart has tried but failed to catch up to Amazon in the delivery space before, having shut down its ShippingPass program in 2017. This time around, chief customer officer Janey Whiteside is leading the program; she’s become a power player since joining the firm from American Express in 2018.