Walmart Plus is a membership program that competes with Amazon Prime The service offers subscribers in-store and online benefits such as unlimited free delivery and fuel discounts at participating gas stations

In terms of pricing, Walmart Plus costs $98 per year or $1295 per month However, it includes a 15-day free trial Here's what you need to know about Walmart Plus

Walmart Plus members no longer need to purchase more than $35 to get free shipping Last year, Walmart announced that it would offer free shipping on all purchases without members having to worry about meeting the $35 or more purchase requirement

In addition, Wal-Mart is expanding the number of locations where members can take advantage of fuel savings Walmart Plus customers can now take advantage of fuel discounts at more than 500 Sam's Club stores These features are a welcome benefit for shoppers, especially given Amazon's termination of its Prime Pantry service

Walmart Plus membership costs $98 per year or $1295 per month (There is a 15-day free trial period, and you can sign up now) This membership program, Walmart's version of Amazon Prime, is a rebranding of Walmart's $98 annual Grocery Unlimited service This grocery delivery service launched in 2019 and quickly expanded to 1,400 stores by September 2019 Walmart Plus, however, goes beyond groceries to include tech, beauty, and sports products By comparison, Amazon Prime costs $199 per year or $1299 per month

Walmart Plus includes a handful of benefits that will increase over time Currently, Walmart Plus benefits include:

It is unclear what benefits Walmart Prime will offer in the near future However, it is no secret that Wal-Mart and Amazon are in a constant price war, especially on holidays like Amazon Prime Day The new rivalry could produce some great deals

In early 2020, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said there were more than 150 million paying Prime members worldwide This is a number that Wal-Mart Plus certainly hopes to reach

Once the nation's top retailer, Wal-Mart has seen rival Amazon dominate online sales eMarketer reports that Amazon now accounts for about 38% of all US online retail sales By comparison, Wal-Mart is a distant second, accounting for just over 5% of the US e-commerce market Wal-Mart Plus is expected to help take some of that market share away from Amazon

This isn't the first time Walmart has gone up against Amazon Prime; in 2015, Walmart launched ShippingPass, an unlimited online shipping service that promises delivery within three days, for $50 per year This was an attempt to undercut Amazon Prime, which was $99 per year at the time; two years later, Walmart lowered the membership fee and switched to a free two-day shipping program on orders over $35

But Walmart's biggest thumping came in 2016 when it acquired Jetcom for $3 billion; Jetcom was expected to help Walmart establish a larger online presence (Wal-Mart announced last month that it was closing Jetcom for good)

The Walmart vs Amazon feud continued into 2019 Just as Amazon announced plans to offer one-day delivery, Walmart followed suit with a one-day delivery pilot Most recently, Walmart announced 2-hour express delivery, adding $10 to Walmart's regular delivery fee

Even on big retail days like Black Friday, Wal-Mart is overshadowed by Amazon with similar sales Wal-Mart Plus is an extension of this ongoing battle, and only time will tell if it is the real knockout punch needed to take on Amazon and its legion of subscribers