In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Joe Keenan and Kristina Stidham discuss Walmart’s announcement that it's going to launch a paid membership program, similar to Amazon Prime. The service will be called Walmart+, and will expand on the retailer’s grocery-delivery subscription service. Walmart is launching a paid membership program to develop a tool to prevent defection of customers to Amazon Prime as well as create a more loyal customer for Walmart. Paid membership generally results in customers feeling more invested in the brand, and thus making more frequent purchases “to get their money’s worth.”

While details are still rather limited, Walmart+ will be launched on the foundation of the company’s existing grocery delivery business. This move makes sense, as Walmart has a clear advantage over Amazon in the grocery sector. The infrastructure exists with Walmart’s Delivery Unlimited service, and Walmart+ will look to build upon it. 

To read the full article and more news on Walmart’s membership program, click here.