Walmart to terminate grocery delivery alliances with Lyft & Uber

Walmart, the foremost retail corporation based in U.S., has apparently announced that it plans to very soon end its grocery delivery experiment with ride hailing moguls Lyft and Uber. As per reliable sources, the grocery delivering service, which has been running since 2016, would culminate its operations on June 30 this year.

If reports are to be believed, the logistics of delivering both groceries and people had proved to be too challenging for Walmart, prompted the retail firm to end the service. The announcement came as a surprise, as Walmart had declared that Uber would play a vital role in its plan to deliver groceries to around half the nation.

For the record, Uber’s drivers have been delivering groceries to the homes of customers in Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, and Phoenix, while Lyft never expanded beyond Denver. The overall system enabled Walmart to alert a Lyft or Uber driver regarding the home delivery of groceries. The driver then would collect the order while the retailer would notify the consumer regarding the shopping and its arrival time.

Sources familiar with the development claim that the latest announcement can be viewed as a potential setback for the retail giant’s ambitions to compete with the last-mile delivery service provided by Amazon.

As per trusted sources, the retailer didn’t seem too fazed by the termination of its alliance with Lyft and Uber, claiming that it can opt for the services of other providers along the likes of DoorDash, Postmates, and Deliv.

According to reliable sources, Uber has stated that it would continue to run UberEats which delivers restaurant meals at workplaces and homes. On the other hand, Lyft is yet to comment with regards to the decision taken by Walmart.

Reportedly, Walmart appears keen to keep pace with Amazon which has made rapid advances in grocery delivery services after buying Whole Foods last year.