Walmart expands grocery delivery service using Uber

Zlati Meyer | USA TODAY

Walmart is expanding its grocery delivery service to two more markets.

The big-box retailer, which is the largest grocery seller in the United States, is dropping off groceries via Uber in Orlando and Dallas, starting this week.

"We’re all about finding new ways for you to check 'grocery shopping' off your list a little faster – including making home delivery an option," Mike Turner, Walmart's vice president of e-commerce operations, wrote in a post on the company's blog. "Hopefully, this expanded offering, and more like it, will speed up the shopping experience and give you back something just as precious as money – time."

Walmart began grocery delivery in Denver and San Jose, Calif., in 2013.

Then, in June 2016, it teamed with Uber to offer delivery in Phoenix and then quietly expanded to Tampa in March.

An estimated 52 million Americans shop for groceries online, according to the NPD Group.

Consumers who want to buy their food and beverages via the Internet aren't limited to Walmart, though. Whole Foods, Costco and Kroger have teamed with Instacart, as have regional chains, like Albertsons and Stop & Shop. Aldi joined the list last week.

With Amazon's $13.7 billion bid for Whole Foods, the question remains what will happen the Seattle-based Internet giant enters the grocery game at full throttle.

The online grocery business is $675 billion a year, according to Morgan Stanley Research.

In April, Walmart began testing what would happen if its employees delivered online orders on their way home from work.

Walmart stock was $79.25, down 6 cents or 0.08% in mid-morning trading.

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